


Will We All Just Burn Like Fire?

by AwakeAndAliveSpartan



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fugitives! AU, Hellfire! Ward, SHIELD is against the Inhumans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2019-06-30 05:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 59,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15745095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwakeAndAliveSpartan/pseuds/AwakeAndAliveSpartan
Summary: Grant Ward thought that he couldn't trust anyone, not until he found Skye hiding in his safehouse.And now it's up to them to change a world that has done them so wrong.





	1. Your Voice I Never Heard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meeting.

 

“At least I was able to get some supplies without a problem.” 

Grant sighed and stopped right outside his cabin door, fumbling in his pocket for his keys. Max, his black German shepherd, sat dutifully by his side, waiting to go into the cabin. Grant smiled as he pulled his keys out and began to unlock the door, “I bet you’re ready for a nap, Max. We’ve been gone all day.” he stated, allowing the dog to run into the room before stepping inside and closing the door. “I…”

He trailed off as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he dropped his bags to the floor. Something seemed really off. Really, really off. “Max?” he asked, looking up to see the shepherd baring his teeth and growling at his bathroom door. “Something there?”

And that’s when he felt it. Someone was in his bathroom and seemed to be hiding there. Could it be someone lying in wait to attack him? Or could it just be a harmless burglar he could deal with in a matter of seconds?

Swallowing, Grant slowly made his way to the bathroom door, motioning for Max to heel. “Look, I know that you’re in there.” he announced loudly. “I can feel you. Come out now and I won’t barge my way in there with a gun. And come out slowly at that.”

He frowned as he sensed movement, the heat signature of whoever was in there suddenly changing slightly. “Now.” he ordered. “I won’t hesitate to shoot. Or worse. I have no remorse for anyone who decides to break into my cabin.”

He stepped back as the doorknob jiggled and the door began to slowly open. Max growled again as a figure slowly emerged.

“Uh, please don’t shoot. I-I don’t mean any harm. I was just looking for a safe place to hide. I didn’t realized that it was occupied until it was too late.”

Grant’s stomach fell as he took in the sight of the woman. She played nervously with her brown hair as she stared at him. He blinked, sweeping his eyes over her. She was somewhere around five and a half feet in height with a very slender, yet muscular build. Her tanned skin and almond-shaped eyes told him of an Asian heritage. Something about her made his gut churn, but he wasn’t sure of what.

He raised an eyebrow, “A quick sweep of the main bedroom or the kitchen would tell you that this place is occupied.” he stated coldly. “Or the dog bowl with some leftover food from this morning in it.”

“Look!” she began to protest. “I didn’t know. I just needed a safe place to hide out for a while that isn’t my van. And this is the first place that’s looked relatively safe that I’ve seen in a while.”

Grant frowned, “And why would someone like you be needing a safe place to hide out?” he asked, crossing his arms. She didn't look all that dangerous to him. “What kind of danger could you possibly even be in?”

The woman smoothed her hair back, eyeing Max carefully, “Y-You wouldn’t understand. SHIELD-”

“SHIELD?” Grant cut her off, urgency and something akin to malice in his voice. “Why would SHIELD be after someone like you? You don’t look like much of a problem.”

“Oh, jeez, thanks.” the woman retorted, shooting him a glare. “But not everyone looks like the fucking Terminator like you do.” She took a step towards him, poking him in the chest, “But you look reasonable. And firm.” She paused and shook her head, “But you’ve got to help me out here.”

Grant blinked, “And why should I help a SHIELD fugitive?” he asked briskly. “That’s a pretty big favor to ask of someone you just met.”  He scanned her figure once again, seeing that she looked dirtied and scared, “How did SHIELD find you anyways? Like I said, you don't look like a very big problem to me.”

“I-I was doing some hacking into their systems, trying to figure out where they're taking the Inhumans.” she began to explain, her mention of Inhumans catching Grant’s attention. “But they caught on and came for me. And… And I fought back.” The ground shook slightly beneath them right as she said that.

Grant stumbled backwards and his eyes widened, “They’re after you because you  _ are  _ one of them.” he said, staring at her. That’s why she had felt so strangely to him. An Inhuman’s heat signature wasn’t the same as a human’s. At least it all made sense to him now. He wasn’t used to being around another one.

The woman nodded shakily, “Look, I-I don’t want any trouble.” she stammered, slightly raising her hands. “I’m just looking for a safe place to hide out for a day or two until the heat dies down.”

“Well, you’re not going to get it here.” Grant almost spat. “I don’t welcome visitors. I’m on my own. And I  _ definitely  _ don't want to get involved with SHIELD business again. Find somewhere else to go.”

“I  _ have  _ nowhere else to go.” the woman protested. “Please, I’ll stay out of your way. I just don’t want SHIELD finding me right now. Like I said, just long enough for the heat to die down. I’m not falling into SHIELD’s hands. Do you  _ know  _ what they do to Inhumans?”

Grant’s eyes flared a bloodred, causing her to jump back, “Yes, I do.” he growled. “I know what those monsters do to people like us. They don’t see us as people, so they round us up and put us into camps. Then we’re either killed or experimented on. SHIELD and all humans are utter pieces of shit.”

“You’re Inhuman, too.”

“Do you see why I don’t want to get involved with a SHIELD fugitive?” he growled, pointing towards her. “It’ll be hell for me. Especially because of what happened before.”

Her face fell, but she decided not to question it, “Look, I’m begging you here. Just for a few days at least. Then I’ll leave.” she stated firmly. “Just for a few days.”

Grant frowned and glared at her for a while. There was still something about her that made his stomach churn and the pleading look in her eyes made him give in. “Fine.” he huffed. “But you stay to the guest room. You don’t bother me either. And you get out when I tell you to. Deal?”

The woman smiled, “Deal.” she answered. “Just for a few days. And you don’t know how much,”

“Go ahead and cut it.” Grant snapped. “I told you not to bother me. But, I do need a name, though.”

“Skye.”

He frowned again, “That’s not a real name.”

“Well, it’s the name I gave myself, okay?” she almost snapped back. “So, it’s real to me.”

Grant narrowed his eyes, “Whatever you say.” he stated with a shrug. He bent down to pick up his groceries. “Guest room’s over there. And it’s Grant.”

“Huh?”

He stopped and turned to glare at her again, “My name. It’s Grant.”

“Grant what?”

“For you, it’s just Grant.” he growled. He knew good and well if Skye had been digging around in SHIELD files, there was a strong possibility that she could very well discover his file. And that’s something he didn’t need. She didn’t need to know about him. He just wanted her out of here as soon as possible. He didn’t need this causing anymore trouble for him.

“Alright,  _ Grant. _ ” Skye bit out her words, wondering if she made a wrong decision with begging him. But, truly, she had no other choice but to stay here. SHIELD was hot on her tail and Grant’s cabin was far enough in the middle of nowhere that she wouldn’t be spotted. 

“You lay low and stay quiet. Do nothing that will somehow draw attention to you.” Grant growled, turning back around to stalk off, Max following right on his heels. “Do what I say and you’ll be okay. And again, you leave when I tell you to.”

Skye frowned again and crossed her arms, watching as he walked off towards the kitchen area, bags in hand.  _ “Wow, what a personality.”  _ she thought.  _ “But there’s a reason to why he hates SHIELD so damn much. They’ve obviously crossed paths before. _

_ So, just what the hell did SHIELD do to him?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I don't know how this'll work. But here's some background on this. SHIELD here is kind of like Hydra in the Framework with taking Inhumans in, but it's not a dictatorship like that. You'll see more soon. And you'll soon find out to why Grant is the way he is. I hope that you enjoy! Please leave a comment or a kudos!


	2. How Long Will You Hide Your Face?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye finds out just a bit about Grant.

(That Night)

Grant watched Skye with scrutiny as she came out of the bathroom and tried to head to the guest room, “Skye, come here.” he ordered gruffly. “Now.”

Skye stopped and looked at him with a frown, pushing her wet hair out of her face, “What? You’re actually talking to me?” she asked, her voice flat. “What is it?”

He pointed at her arms as she walked over, “Your arms. They’re bruised.” he stated. “They weren’t like this earlier. Did you do something to them?”

“What?” She held her arms close to her body, looking at the mottled bruises that went from her wrists to her elbows. “No. This is… They’re from earlier. From that fight with SHIELD. It sometimes takes them a day or so to form. It’s not a big deal.”

He raised an eyebrow, “You’re hurt.” He suddenly reached out and gently took one of her arms, “The bones are fractured.” he stated matter-of-factly. “That  _ is  _ a big deal. You’re just walking around with fractured arms like this?”

She jerked her arm away from him, hissing slightly in pain, “Like I said, it’s not a big deal. Just a side effect of my powers. I heal quickly anyways, they’ll be okay in a couple of days.” she stated coldly. “And why are you being so concerned all of a sudden?”

“I’m not.” he grumbled. “You’re just walking around with broken arms like it’s nothing and that’s bothering me. That’s just only going to get you hurt worse. Especially if SHIELD decides to attack you again.” He stood to his feet and pushed past her, “You’re coming with me.”

“Look, I’m not-”

Grant stopped and spun around to glare at her, “I don’t like the idea that you’re walking around hurt.” he state coldly. “With the situation that we’re in, you need to be at the top of your game. You know very well what will happen to you if you can’t fight for yourself. SHIELD will capture you in a heartbeat and then that’s the end of you. No questions asked.”

Skye stared at him for a few seconds before answering, something akin to pain in his eyes pulling at her, “How… How do you know so much about this?” she asked quietly. “What did they do to you?”

His face twisted up and he quickly turned away, “That’s none of your damn business.” he spat. “You’re not even supposed to be here anyways. So nothing personal. I’m just letting you stay here until you can leave.” He turned back towards her, “But you are going to let me wrap those arms up. I’m not a doctor, but I have enough first aid training to be able to treat that.” He swallowed, “Please.”

Skye blinked and stared at him some more. Did he hate to see people hurt? She still hated to know what SHIELD had done to him, but she wasn’t going to press him on it anymore. Only because she didn’t want to make him angry.

“Fine.” she huffed, following him back to the bathroom. “Look, I thought that you hated me or something.”

“I don’t like you. That’s a fact.” he answered, grabbing a first aid kit from underneath the sink. “But, I don’t like the fact that you’re walking around with broken arms. I’ll… I’ll at least help you with this as well.” He took out some bandaging. “But, it’s only because you need to be in top shape in case SHIELD does end up getting to you again. I’m still surprised that you were able to get away so easily.” He motioned for her to sit on top of the counter.

“There were only a few agents. I guess they didn’t think me to be much of a threat before they saw my powers.” Skye took a sharp breath, “I brought down an abandoned building to stop them long enough for me to get away. Perhaps I could’ve done something else and they would’ve of seen my powers. I probably made things worse by fighting back.”

“Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do but to fight back.” Grant began to wrap up her arms, eliciting a hiss of pain from Skye. “Especially in the world that we live in. But, sometimes, fighting back will get you nothing but trouble. That’s why I’ve chosen to stay away from everything and not get involved. I’m risking myself by helping you out, and I don’t like that. That’s why you need to leave as soon as possible.”

Skye frowned and looked away, not sure of what to say. It was clear to her that SHIELD had wronged him in some major way, but he refused to elaborate on that. Of course he wouldn’t elaborate on something personal to a practical stranger as such as herself. She had been the one that had broken into his home.

Grant finished up the bandaging on her arms and placed the kit aside, stepping back to look at her, “It’s hard to trust others here.” he began. “So I’m sorry if I seem a little  _ rough  _ towards you right now. But, you just don’t understand the risks I’m taking here by taking in  _ another  _ SHIELD fugitive. Especially a hacker. I’ll let you stay here long enough for you to heal, but you need to move on after that. I don’t need them finding me now.”

She swallowed, hopping off of the counter, “Tell me one thing.” she stated, staring him straight into the eyes. “Just who the hell are you to them?”

Turning his back to her, Grant shook his head, “A monster. A black stain that they would absolutely love to erase.” he growled. “And I would kill every last one of them before I even let them lay a single finger on me. I won’t let those bastards do anything to me. I’m tired of their bullshit and they’re all better off death. The world won’t miss a bunch of prejudice assholes.”

He stalked out of the bathroom, leaving Skye to herself. She bit her lip, trying to figure him out. Honestly, she was growing a bit afraid of him and wondered if she really needed to stay here. But, she figured that her chances were better with a violent-minded Inhuman whose grudges were against SHIELD than the very organization who wanted to wipe the Inhuman race off the face of the Earth. She was just afraid of accidentally setting Grant off in any way whatsoever. It seemed as though whatever SHIELD had put him through had turned him cold and violent.

But, there seemed to be a part of him that still cared about others. He had hated seeing her hurt, so there was still something inside that shell of a man. But, Skye knew she wouldn’t be sticking around long enough to find out.

Skye walked to the bathroom door, standing in the doorway as she watched Grant. He sat on the couch, his head leaned back and his eyes closed. Max had his head laid in the man’s lap and Grant had a gentle hand threaded through the scruff on the dog’s neck. She bit her lip again, actually starting to feel worried for the man she had met only a few hours beforehand. But, she hated to know just what SHIELD had done to him.

She shook her head and headed back towards the guest room, rubbing at the bandages as one question lingered on her mind. 

Just who the hell was this man?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a little bit more background behind Grant's situation is revealed, but not too much. I don't plan on revealing the whole thing for a while now. But y'all are free to make guesses. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	3. There Are No Heroes Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The unexpected happens and Skye finds out to why SHIELD wants Grant.

(A Couple of Days Later)

Skye’s head shot up as the front door slammed open and Grant came storming into the cabin, Max hot on his heels. “What’s going on?” she asked cautiously. “What happened?”

“Get your things together. We have to move.  _ Now. _ ” Grant growled, opening an almost-empty closet and pulling out a heavy-looking bag. It landed on the floor with a clank. “I don’t know how much time we have.”

Her stomach churned as she came over towards him, “W-What do you mean?” she stammered slightly. “What the hell happened?”

“I saw SHIELD agents in town.” he answered gruffly, adjusting whatever was in the bag. A quick glance in it made Skye shudder. It was nothing but various guns and knives, all packed away neatly. “That might not mean anything, but it’s one hell of a coincidence. Best to put enough distance between us and them before they catch wind of us. They’re probably asking around about me, and I’m sure  _ someone  _ could point them in the right direction.” He reached back into the closet and pulled out two duffel bags, tossing them to Skye.

“What do you want me to do with these?”

“Go and stuff the non perishable food into it one of them. Cans, mainly. And any drinks you can find. Everything else can be left behind. I’ll deal with Max’s toys and supplies. The other one is for the things in the bathroom. Anything you think will be useful.” he explained, zipping up his weapons bag. “But do it quick?”

“Shouldn’t I just go off by myself?”

Grant shook up and shook his head, slightly glaring at her, “No. You’re still healing and since SHIELD is close, it’s best that we stick together.” he stated. “Is that van of yours good to go?”

Skye raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, why?”

“I’m sure someone has seen my truck. I’ll have to ditch that. It was stolen anyways, so I don’t need to get caught up with the police outside of town. We’ll have to take your van.”

She crossed her still-bandaged arms, “You’re not driving it.” she shot back. “It’s  _ my  _ van after all.”

Grant shot her another glare and stood up, picking up the bag, “Fine. But, I’ll tell you where to go.” he stated. “We need plenty of distance between here and wherever the hell we end up. Our best bet is to drive until we can’t anymore. Then a motel will suit us for resting a night.”

Skye blinked as Grant disappeared into his room with Max right behind him. She sighed and took the bags she had into the kitchen, wondering to just what the hell she had gotten herself in to. It was clear that the SHIELD agents were after Grant and not her. She still hadn’t found anything else out about him and to why he hated SHIELD so much. But, a part of her definitely didn’t want to get between his wrath and the agency. Still, she had no other choice. She had to trust Grant with this to keep herself safe.

She made quick work of packing up what food and drink that wouldn’t spoil and then headed into the bathroom, packing up what little was in there. Luckily, she had kept all of her belongings within her two bags and didn’t need to pack anything up on her in. She drug the four bags into the main area of the cabin, finding Grant packing away some dog toys and cans of dog food. 

Grant stopped and looked at her, “Did you get everything?” he asked, finishing up Max’s bag. “Because we need to go now if we want to get a headstart.”

Skye sighed and nodded, “Yes, I did.” she answered. “You know my van is like half a mile from here and we’ve got like seven bags between two people and a dog. How the hell is this going to work?”

“My truck will get us there and I’ll just abandon it there.” Grant stated, putting Max’s bag with the others. “And abandoning the truck elsewhere might throw SHIELD off if they do happen to find this place. I would normally just torch this place, but I won’t considering that it’s in the middle of a dense forest and I don’t want to draw any attention. We’re leaving this place like how it is.”

“Fine. If we’re going, then let’s go.”

The two made quick work of getting Grant’s ‘borrowed’ truck loaded, then heading towards where Skye had left her van. Grant slightly wrinkled his nose at Skye’s dingy van, but knew that it was better than nothing. Hell, he had lived in worse before. 

“Well, it’s not much, but it’s what I call home.” Skye announced as they started to load their bags into the back of the van. “But, it’ll do.”

“Yeah, it will.” Grant agreed, prompting for Max to hop in. “We just need something to get us from place to place. I have another safehouse in mind. It’s over a few hundred miles away. But distance is key here. We’ve got the supplies and the money to get us there. It’ll take a few days. But, it’s better than nothing at this point. We just have to hope that SHIELD won’t intercept us. Or the police catch us.”

Skye swallowed, “I hope that you know what you’re doing.”

“Trust me. I’ve been doing this for a while now. I’m sure that I know how to survive.”

 

* * *

  
  


(Sometime Later)

Skye slowly pulled into an empty rest stop, looking over to see Grant fast asleep in the passenger seat. She wondered when the last time he slept was because he always seem so full speed and paranoid. She could hear a soft snore, but she figured that it was Max in the back. 

_ “Alright, let’s see just who we are.”  _ she thought, reaching behind her for her laptop. Since the rest stop was empty and Grant was asleep she figured that she had some time to do some research.  _ “I’ll quickly hack into SHIELD files and download his file. I’ll then disconnect just to be safe. But if SHIELD finds anything, they’ll be pinged to this dingy rest stop. It’s a wonder that it even has Wifi. But, we'll be long gone before they'll even show up here. I've got plenty of time to find what I want to find.” _

It took several minutes to hack into the SHIELD servers and find Grant’s file (she had run a photo she had secretly taken of him earlier against their systems to find him), which happened to be a level 8 encryption and took a little bit more work than she hoped. But, luckily, she was able to download the file and then disconnect from the servers. 

_ “Alright, who the hell are you, Grant? You do look like a Ward.”  _ she opened the file and began to skim it. Unfortunately, some things still seemed to be locked away. But, what was there still gave her more than enough information.

’ _ Ward, Grant Douglas. 1/7/1983. Species: Inhuman. Abilities: High-level pyrokinesis. Alias: Hellfire. Priority level: Red.  _

_ Ward is to be handled with extreme caution and lethal force is permitted. SHIELD training combined with lethal Inhuman powers render him too dangerous for low level agents. Ward is wanted for the murder of approx. 7 SHIELD agents and the arson of a low-priority base. Anti-human beliefs and unstable mental state make him a high-level priority target. Prone to high-level violence….” _

Skye tore her eyes away from the file. Everything else was still locked away under heavy encryption that she didn’t have the time to break through. Files such as his background and psych profile were inaccessible. But again, what she read had told her more than enough. It pretty much had told her her worst fears. 

A part of her wondered to just how much of it was doctored to turn more SHIELD agents against the Inhumans, but Grant’s vile attitude towards the agency told her that this was the truth. Her heart was starting to rise into her chest; she was starting to grow very afraid of the man sleeping in the seat next to her. 

She was sitting right next to a murderer. Even if they had been SHIELD lives, it still made her uneasy. That showed that Grant was willing to do pretty much anything in order to protect himself and to survive. Then why did he seem to be so protective of her, even though he had hated her just a few days ago? Even if there were still some ill feelings. 

Skye swallowed, staring at Grant as he continued to sleep. His face twitched and he muttered as though he was in the throes of a terrible dream. She wondered if she could truly trust him or not. Just what was his intentions with her?

Just what the hell had she gotten herself into? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've decided to make this a bit darker than intended. But just trust me here. It'll be different from my other dark fics. I promise. And any suggestions you have are welcome! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	4. I'll Stand and Watch it all Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant proves that he has no morals.

(The Next Night)

Grant frowned, looking towards Skye as he sat down on the edge of the bed, “You’re quiet.” he stated. “I haven’t even known you for a week yet and I know that’s not normal for you. Is something wrong?” His head tilted slightly, “I’m sorry if I’m throwing you into something you didn’t want to get involved with, but I had no choice. I… I couldn’t leave you near where SHIELD agents were.”

Skye swallowed and struggled to look at him. What she had found out about him the day before still weighed heavily on his mind. This man was a murderer. And there was actually no telling to just how much blood he had on his hands. There could’ve been far more than just seven deaths weighing on him. And with how Grant acted, Skye knew that there was no remorse in him whatsoever. 

“Look.” Grant looked towards the ground where Max laid. “If it’s something I’ve done, you can tell me. I don’t want things to be tense between us if SHIELD’s after us, Skye. I know that I was rough on you before, but…” He trailed off and didn’t continue that statement. He shook his head, “What’s going on?”

“It’s just that I never thought I would be on the run from a government organization.” she lied, keeping a straight face. “It scares me, you know. I’m a hacker. Not a fighter. I was Rising Tide for a reason until I poked the bear and things went to shit.”

Grant nodded slowly, even though he knew that Skye’s answer wasn’t completely the truth. There was something else that she was hiding from him, but he didn’t feel like trying to pry that out of her. Now wasn’t the time. They needed to rest so they could get going first thing in the morning before anyone caught wind of them.

“That’s understandable. You’re not used to this kind of stuff.” Grant continued, looking back down to the sleeping Max. “But, you’re gonna have to fight sooner or later. SHIELD isn’t the type of organization that you can run from forever. You either fight or you get killed. It’s as simple as that at this point.”

Skye looked down to the bandages that were still on her arms; she hadn’t had the chance to take them off yet. “Like I said, I’m not a fighter. I can’t use my powers without breaking my fucking bones, Grant.” she replied. “That’s not going to get me anywhere in a fight.”

“My skin used to burn when I used my powers.” Grant answered. “I mean, I heal extremely fast so they never left scars. But, my skin would blister and peel anytime I tried to fight. I had to rely on my fighting abilities until I could get them under control. How long have you had them?”

She shrugged, “A few months. But I don’t use them a lot.” she stated in response.  _ “You’re probably in sync with yours by now.”  _ she thought.  _ “No telling what else you’ve done with them.” _

“Then you haven’t had enough time for your body to grow used to them. The change is sudden and your body doesn’t immediately grow immune to your powers.” Grant continued, looking back to her. “It also sounds like your powers might be internalizing some. Didn’t you say that they were based on vibrational energy or whatnot.”

“Yeah. I think.”

“Then maybe that’s why your bones are fracturing whenever you use them. You’ve got to release all the energy. You can’t fight if you end up burning yourself up.”

“What if I don’t want to fight?”

A grimace formed on Grant’s face and he shot to his feet, causing Max to jump up with a bark, “Look! You’re gonna have to be willing to fight in the fucking situation we’re in!” he snapped, a demonic light shining deep within his eyes. “These SHIELD agents are far from innocent. They want us dead just because we’re a little bit different. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to protect yourself!”

Skye swallowed and shrank back, unsure of what to say. Grant’s face immediately fell as she guessed that he saw the fear shining in her eyes.

“Shit.” Grant slowly drug a hand over his face. “I-I… I’m sorry, Skye. It’s just that I don’t want you getting hurt. You… You have to be able to fight. I can’t…” He trailed off and remained silent for a few, long seconds. “I didn’t mean to snap, Skye.”

_ “Just what the hell is wrong with him? He’s got one hell of a temper. So, just what did SHIELD do to him?”  _ Skye thought, watching as Grant turned around and ran his hands through his jet-black hair.  _ “He snaps just like that. Do I dare ask him? But, I don’t want him knowing that I dug into his file. No, not yet. I can’t let him know that. But, I need to know something. Especially if we’re going to be stuck together like this. Is… Is he really the murderer SHIELD makes him out to be, though? Who’s the true monster here?” _

Grant took a sharp breath to steady himself, kneeling down to pet Max. He ran a gentle hand over the shepherd’s head, causing him to bark and lick him in the face. “That’s right.” Grant whispered. “That’s right.”

He took another sharp breath and stood up, turning back to face Skye, “Look, I’m just trying to say that we can’t keep running forever. We  _ will  _ have to fight sooner or later. And it’ll probably be sooner than you’ll like. You need to be able to put up a good fight. The two of us combined will easily be able to take down most squads sent after us.” he said softly. “That’s why you need to be able to fight as well. I just don’t want you getting hurt, Skye. You’ve got to understand.”

Skye looked away for a bit before looking back to him, “I guess that you’re right, but I don’t like the idea.” she answered. “But, I hope that we will never have to.”

“We  _ will  _ have to fight, Skye. There’s no way around it at this point. I will say this and nothing more. I  _ am  _ one of SHIELD’s most wanted for reasons I will not disclose to you at all.” Grant continued, his coldness starting to return. “They will stop at nothing to get to me. I’ve just been good at hiding lately. I’ve been on the run for a little over a year now and I was in that cabin for about four months. Which was pretty good. I’ve been in about four different safehouses now. The first one didn’t last long. The third was memorable because it’s where I found Max. He was about three months old then and now he’s a little under a year old; he’s still a puppy.

But, you can’t stay anywhere long. I was only able to stay in one place for months at a time because I was secluded and knew how to hide myself.” he continued. “But I know that’s coming to a end soon. We will have to fight sooner or later. Whether we like it or not.”

“Yeah…”

Grant bit his lip, “You know how to use a gun?” he asked, trying to move the subject on. “Just a simple handgun?”

Skye raised an eyebrow, “Kind of. I’ve used one once or twice.” she answered. “Why?”

“Because a gun is another way to go. A simple shot to the head will work.” he answered. “You’ve got to be willing to get blood on your hands. Nothing’s clean in trying to survive. Especially against those bastards.”

Skye’s face fell, “Grant, I’m not going to kill someone! Even if they’re mistreating us.” she protested, standing to her feet. “I would never kill someone! I don’t even want to hurt someone!”

A muscle twitched in Grant’s face and he glowered at her, “It’s either kill or be killed here, Skye!” he snapped. “If you don’t act first, you’ll either be locked away in a lab or you’ll be laying on the ground with blood pooling from your head! You can’t treat SHIELD like innocent human beings! Hell, no human is innocent. They all fucking hate us. You have to be willing to get your hands dirty. Or you will die. There is no way around it. And I don’t see why their lives matter anyways. They’re just humans, Skye. Why do you care for them?”

“Uh, because I have a heart unlike some people?”

His scowl only grew worse, “Why have a heart towards those who treat us like animals? Those who round us up, only to kill us just because they’re afraid. Humanity makes me sick.” he stated. “They’re a fucking joke.” He spread his hands out, sparks flaring in between his fingers, “And I don’t care who I have to kill until I can live a life without fear of being killed myself. I do whatever it takes to survive, Skye. You have to see that. 

I will do whatever it takes in order to protect us.” he continued, his eyes a deep red. “I don’t care to what I have to do. SHIELD will attack sooner or later. And we will have to fight. I not going to let those fuckers get what they want. 

And they  _ will  _ feel the wrath of Hellfire.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I promise that you will find out to why Grant is the way he is within the next couple of chapters. And there will be a lot of action in the next chapter. Suggestions and feedback is greatly welcomed! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	5. Every Man, A Vicious Animal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHIELD catches up to Grant and Skye.

(The Next Day)

“Alright, you stay in here with Max and I’ll go grab some breakfast. Do you want anything in particular?”

Skye looked over as Grant started to reach for the passenger’s side door, “Doesn’t matter. As long as you bring me some coffee. And it doesn’t matter to what type. As long as it’s some kind of coffee.” she answered. “I need my caffeine, Grant.”

Grant laughed slightly and opened the door, “I’ll see what I can do. Just stay here. Best if it’s just one of us. Max, keep her company.” he stated, getting out of the van and closing the door behind him. Skye watched as he began to make his way towards the restaurant and Max hopped into the front seat with her.

“Is he always like how he was last night?” she asked the shepherd, petting him on top of the head. “What did SHIELD do to him to make him think that way? It’s clear that he’s not afraid of killing someone to protect himself. Did I make a mistake with coming with him?”

The dog just looked at her, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. 

“Of course you don’t understand what I’m saying.” Skye sighed and turned back around, facing the windshield. “He just scares me, you know. I don’t think that he’ll hurt me, I’m just afraid of what he’ll do in order to try and protect us. And if that SHIELD file’s right, he’s one hell of a monster. Don’t…. Don’t let him know that I said that.”

Skye continued to stare out of the window for several minutes until screams outside of the van caught her attention.

She looked to see Grant running towards her, a bag in his hand and waving with the other. “Get the damn van running! We’ve got to go! Now!” he screamed. “They’re here! Go! Get Max in the back!”

Her curiosity got the best of her and she turned to see three unmarked black vans pulling into the parking lot at a high speed. She didn’t even have to ask to who they were and to why they were here.

SHIELD.

Her heart leapt into her throat as she fumbled with the ignition and pushed Max into the back of the van. But, she really didn't think her old van would be able to outrun SHIELD. They would be able to catch up with them. She knew that they would end up having to fight. And that meant that she was terrified of what Grant would end up doing. 

The van roared to life just as something flew through the window next to her, nicking her arm. She hissed in pain and looked down to see blood trickling out of a small wound. A bullet. That had to be it. They were firing at them. These agents obviously had kill orders. 

Grant flung the door open and threw the bag he had inside, “You better drive like a bat out of hell.” he began. “I…” He trailed off as he saw the blood running down her arm, “They shot you.” His voice was small, but also filled with unbridled anger. A switch in his mind had been flipped just like that and Skye knew just what that meant.

“Grant, it’s just a nick. I’ll be fine.” Skye barked at him. “Get in the fucking van! You told me to drive!” Another bullet whizzed by, causing Skye to duck. “I don’t think that there’s any time to fight here! Let’s go!”

Fire began to literally burn from Grant’s eyes as he slammed the door and spun around, “Skye, get down.” he growled. “I don’t want you getting hurt. You still can’t fight because of your arms. Stay in there and protect yourself and Max.”

Skye managed to jump into the back of the van in time just as more bullets flew by, but they seemed to be directed towards just Grant right now. She knew that the only ones dying here were going to be those agents, but that still scared her. And she was afraid to see what the aftermath of this would all be. 

“What do you fuckers what from us, huh?!” she heard Grant yell. “If it’s me you want, then come and get me! But you leave her the hell alone! She’s done nothing wrong!”

Taking a deep breath, Skye laid against Max, “I should be out there fighting.” she whispered. “But, Grant’s right. I can’t fight because of my arms. They’re not healed enough yet. There’s no telling to what will happen to them if I try to fight now. They’ll probably only shatter even more. Then I really won’t be able to use them.”

Max huffed as though he was trying to respond. Skye just hugged him as she heard Grant scream again. 

“What do you want, huh?! Haven’t you bastards ruined me enough?! How did you even find us?!”

Ten heavily armed agents surrounded him and Grant knew that there were even more on the way. He also knew that he could kill every last one of them with just a wave of his hand. But, Grant wanted to make a spectacle of this. They deserved a painful, slow death. Nothing quick. That was too forgiving for the likes of SHIELD in his book. 

“Stand down.” one agent announced, stepping forward. “Surrender now and we won’t fight. Give yourself over and it’ll be better for you.”

Grant’s face fell, “Now, we both know that that’s a huge ass lie.” he stated, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He tilted his head, “Now, I know for a fact that you’re here on a kill order by the way you hauled ass into this parking lot. But, only one of us is getting out of here alive today and that’s definitely not gonna be you guys.” His lips pulled into a devilish smile, “You made a huge fucking mistake by coming here.” 

The agent raised an arm up, an order to get ready to fire, “On my mark.” he began. “Fire only at him.”

“Death by firing squad?” Grant brough a hand to his heart, “I’m touched. Really.” His eyes trailed to the restaurant behind the agents, seeing the civilians still hiding inside, “But you guys really don’t care about anyone other than yourself do you?” he asked. “You come in here guns blazing and you don’t seem to care about the civilians inside of that building eating breakfast. As long as I’m death, civilian casualties are okay, right? I may not care about humans, but that seems pretty shitty.” He spread his hands out beside him, “Who’s the real monster here?”

A muscle twitched in the lead agent’s eye, “We have our orders.” he stated. “To take you down at any costs. You are SHIELD’s most wanted after all.”

Grant’s frown returned, “Wrong answered.” he replied, sparks flaring in the palms of his hands. A shot fired and Grant grunted as a bullet flew through his shoulder. His eyes flared again and he snarled, “Definitely the wrong answer.” Flames shot from his palms and engulfed his body, forming what looked like a fiery demon.

“Fire!”

Bullets flew towards Grant, but only burnt up in the heat of his flames. Maniacal laughter crackled from the flames. 

“You can’t kill me!” Grant screamed, taking a step towards the armor-clad agents. “No one can! You’ve already tried several times before, can’t you learn a lesson for once?!”

“Kill the half-blooded monster!”

“The only monster here is you!” Grant yelled back, flames flaring from his body even more. “I am only protecting myself!”

“We are protecting mankind by getting rid of the likes of you!” the lead agent screamed in anger and in hatred. “Your kind are nothing but freaks! Every last one of you!”

Skye had managed by now to creep up to the front of the van now that the gunfire had ceased, grimacing as pain shot through her leg. Another bullet had pierced the side of the van and had lodged itself in her thigh as she had shielded Max from the gunfire. She peeked her head up to see out the window, her stomach freezing as she saw the flaming mass that was Grant just as he began to raise his hand, directing it towards the agents. 

“Go to hell, you human freaks.” 

A blast of flame roared from Grant’s outstretched hand and consumed the agents as their screams rang out. The flame shielding Grant snuffed out and he turned around, a satisfied grin on his face. He hurried back towards the van, opening the door to get back to Skye. His face twitched as he saw the blood pooling from her leg. 

“You’re hurt.” He tried to reach out towards her leg, but he quickly jerked it back away. “Let me drive. There’s nothing we can do about it here. There are probably more agents than that on the way. It’s not fatal. I can make a makeshift tourniquet to make sure that you don’t bleed out. We’ll drive until we reach the next motel. We should be fine there. Hopefully.”

Skye blinked, watching as Grant made his way around the van and got into the driver’s seat. He took his sleeve and tore it from his shirt, “ Can you prop your leg up so I can get to it?” he asked gently. “I’ve got to tie this at the top of your leg and get the bullet out. I’ll have to treat it more once we’re safe.” He reached behind him and grabbed the first aid kit, “It’ll be rough, but it’ll work for now.” 

Skye nodded slowly and managed to prop her leg up on the center console with a grimace, “Are… Are they dead?” she asked. “Why?”

“Why?” Grant shot back, tearing the rest of her pants leg off so he could get to the bullet. “We would be dead if I didn’t kill them. You heard how they were acting. They were even willing to risk everyone in that restaurant just to kill me. They’re the real monsters, Skye. Not me. You have to believe that. I just saved our asses.”

Skye looked away as Grant pulled out a pair of tweezers from the kit and leaned in towards her leg, “But they were ten people, Grant. You just killed ten agents.” 

“Yeah, to save the both of us. You have to be willing to get your hands dirty in order to protect yourself here.” Grant sighed, “Take a deep breath. This is going to hurt.” 

Skye screamed out as Grant suddenly pulled the bullet out of her leg, even more blood oozing out. She took a deep breath and shook her head to regain herself, “Yeah, but still.” she continued. “Something seems wrong about this.”

“What’s wrong is the fact that an entire government organization is practically performing a genocide of part of the American population.” Grant stated, placing the tweezers and bloodied bullet aside and reaching for antiseptic. “The same organization that tortured me for a solid week just to see what made me tick.” He looked back up at her, “There’s a line that has to be drawn and they’re on the wrong side, Skye. You’ve got to understand that.”

She hissed as he poured the antiseptic on the wound and wiped at it. Looking back at him and the soft look in his eyes, she nodded slowly, “Maybe a part of what you’re saying makes sense. But it still feels wrong, you know.” she stated. “I,”

“They were willing to sacrifice all those civilians just to kill me, Skye. Just think about that for a second. I think they’re the ones better off dead.”

Skye looked towards Max as Grant began to wrap her leg gently, watching as the dog slept. How had he fallen asleep already? “Maybe you’re right. But, there has to be a way to put a stop to all of this. We’ve just got to find it.”

“I don’t know if it’s out there, Skye.” Grant put the kit away and turned back towards the steering wheel. “I don’t think that we could be the ones to do it. But, we just have to run for now. Before it comes to bite us in the ass.”

Skye nodded, “You’re not hurt, are you?” she asked, moving the subject on. “You took on ten agents by yourself.”

“I got shot, but the wound’s healed already. Bonus of using my powers.” he answered. “I’ll just have to sleep a while later. Makes me tired.”

Skye breathed a silent breath of relief, glad that he was okay. Wait, was she actually starting to care for him? She shook her head, trying to get that thought out of her head as Grant began to speed out of the parking lot. He may have killed people, but he was still so kind and caring to her. A stark contrast to how he was towards her just a week beforehand. 

Were they falling for one another already?

“We’ll get to the next motel and we’ll get cleaned up.” Grant stated as he sped along. “And I’ll try to stitch up that wound just to make sure that it’s okay. But, I think that we’ve really gotten ourselves into a war now.”

“Back there, you said that they tortured you for a solid week.” Skye began, looking towards him. “Just what did they do to you?”

He quickly looked towards her, “I guess I owe you a story, don’t I?” He sighed, “It’s a long one, but I rather tell you it once we get somewhere safe. 

I guess it’s time that you finally know the truth.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, this is where things really start to pick up. We'll find out Grant's story in the next chapter. And something else pretty big will happen too. So look out for that. Keep the comments and kudos coming! And do y'all still like this? Reception has been lacking lately.


	6. They Won't Know My Heart, It's the Darkest Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye finds out the truth.

(That Night)

“I don’t have the materials to do any stitches, but I don’t think that it needs any. It’s already clotting-up pretty well.”

Skye looked back up at Grant as he placed the first aid kit aside, “So, you think that I’ll be okay?”

Grant nodded slightly, “Yeah, give or take a few days. Your arms are almost healed as well.” he answered. “You heal really fast, which is a good advantage since we’ll have to leave here first thing in the morning. I don’t think SHIELD tracked us here since I killed that entire team. We’re good long enough to get some rest.”

“Back in the van, you said that you would explain things.” Skye began, shifting on the bed so she was more comfortable. “You gonna keep that promise?”

With a sigh, Grant drew his legs up onto the bed and nodded once more, looking at Max out of the corner of his eyes, “Yes, I think you need to know things since you’re now involved with this. You need to know why they hate me so damn much.” 

“So, what happened?”

“I… I’m not going to go into great detail with it, because a lot of it is still really painful to recall, but I’ll explain things enough so you know what went down.” Grant began with a sharp breath to steady himself. “I was a SHIELD agent, that much you’ve probably figured out. A high-ranking one, too. Level seven.

I was loyal, didn’t question orders. SHIELD saved my life, so I thought that I owed them everything.” he continued. He saw that Skye had raised an eyebrow and decided to explain that as well, “I had a horrible childhood. Horrible is probably the best word I could use to describe it. My mother had severe anger issues and would take it out on me and my siblings. My father was a senator and was either too drunk or too busy to care about us. And my older brother…. He was the worst of them. 

He would beat me and my younger siblings. And… And he would force me to beat our younger brother.” He shuddered as the memory of Thomas in the well flashed across his mind. “It was… Terrible… I developed issues because of the abuse and was sent to military school at 15 just to be out of my parents’ hair. But, a letter from my sister made me steal a car and drive hundreds of miles home. I set fire to my home with my older brother inside of it. He didn’t die, but I was sent to juvie and charged with first degree arson and attempted murder. Christian wanted me to be charged as an adult.”

“Christian?” Skye asked, narrowing her eyes. “As in Christian Ward? That very anti-Inhuman jackass senator in Massachusetts?”

Grant nodded numbly, “That very one. I think he’s anti-Inhuman because of me, but he doesn’t realize that it’s genetic.” he answered. “Anyways, SHIELD came for me soon, offering me a place in their ranks. And of course I took it. Anything to keep me from rotting in a prison cell. But, because of it, I thought they saved me. And I became blind and loyal.”

He swallowed and paused, “Because of me being an elite operative, they put me in charge of one of the Inhuman roundup teams once the Inhumans started appearing and Director Ainsley kicked Fury aside. I bought into the bullshit of the Inhumans being ‘dangerous’.” he continued. “All because of a small handful that did happen to be so. I rounded up innocent people, and didn’t think twice about it. I don’t know how many deaths I’m responsible, but I’m paying for it now.”

“Grant,”

He shook his head, “It all soon came back to bite me in the ass. A group of Inhumans retaliated on one mission with Terrigen. It’s completely harmless to a normal human, but not so much to one with Inhuman genes. I blacked out and woke up in Tartarus, SHIELD’s most infamous ‘camp’ for Inhuman captives.” he explained. “I was paraded around that base like a zoo animal before being transported to a small science base. Agents who I had worked with just days before were jeering and spitting at me. Yelling things that I won’t dare say again. They turned on me like that. Then… Then, the experiments started.”

“What kind of experiments?” Skye’s heart truly hurt for him now. 

“No… I won’t go into detail. But let’s just say that they had a field day with me one they found out that I have a regenerative healing ability.” he answered lightly. “For a solid week, I was in and out of consciousness with barely any sleep or food. A once high-ranking and loyal agent was now nothing more than a lab rat. 

But, after a week, the inhibitors they had on me happened to fail and I snapped, my unstable powers taking complete control of me.” he continued. “I burnt that base down and killed seven agents in the process. I’ve been on the run ever since and that was over a year ago. But, do you see why I hate SHIELD so damn much, Skye? They’re nothing but a bunch of traitors who will turn on a loyal teammate in a split second because of something that they can’t help. They treated me like shit because I was no longer human, just because my genetics mark me as different than them.” He took another sharp breath and ran his hands through his jet-black hair, “That’s why I want them all dead. Because they do that to Inhuman after Inhuman. And they won’t stop at nothing. They’ll keep going until there are no Inhumans left.”

Skye swallowed and reached out, placing a hand on his thigh, “Grant, I… I had no idea.” she stated. “I,”

“You don’t have to feel sorry for me, Skye.” Grant stated harshly, cutting her off. “I don’t need anyone’s pity. I just want a way to put an end to all of this shit. I want SHIELD to die. I want them to suffer the same way that I did. I want Ainsley’s ass to burn. If I had it my way, I would kill him myself. I don’t care to what happens to me, I just want him dead and SHIELD buried deep in the ground. I’m tired of this life, Skye. You’ve got to understand.”

“I understand, Grant. But there has to be a better way than adding more blood to your hands.” she stated, finding herself scooting closer to him. “There has to be another way to end all of this.”

“What’s one more kill? My hands are so bloodied by the Inhuman deaths I’m responsible for…. The death of a bastard isn’t going to do anything to that. I don’t think that there’s anything good waiting for me when I die.” he stated, looking straight into her eyes. “I don’t care to who I have to kill, Skye. I’ve told you that time and time again. I’ll kill a hundred more times if it means putting a stop to the Inhuman genocide. I’m willing to pay the price as it long as it means we can live in peace.”

“You’re willing to put that much blood onto your hands? You killed ten people just like that.”

“I killed them because they shot you, Skye.” he shot back. “They were trying to kill the both of us. I couldn’t let that happen. You’ve got to understand that. I just want to keep the both of us safe, I don’t want you dying because you got caught up in my war. I don’t want you to die because of me.”

Skye’s heart skipped a beat, realizing that he cared for her. That he regretted all of this because she got caught in the crossfire all because of him. 

“Grant, you don’t have to blame,”

“I do.” he leaned forward and pointed at her bandaged leg. “That’s my fault. I should’ve never let you stay with me. I should’ve turned you away first thing. Because you would’ve never gotten caught up in all of this, Skye. I have to blame myself. You’ll end up being just like all the other Inhumans I’ve gotten killed. My collateral damage. I can’t let that happen, but I can’t turn you away now. It’s my job to protect all of us. Even Max. It’s all on my hands, Skye. I’ve got to make this all right.”

Skye reached out and took his hand, giving it a firm, reassuring squeeze, “Grant, I was the one that wanted to stay. I should’ve seem the risk.” she stated. “I,”

“You didn’t know, Skye. There was no way that you could’ve known.” Grant cut in again with another shake of his head. “ _ I  _ should’ve seen the risk. But, I didn’t. Now, you’re caught in a war because of me.”

“No, I’m caught in a war because I’m Inhuman, not because of you.” she stated, leaning in, a reassuring and kind look in her eyes. “This is not your fault, Grant. It never was.”

Grant’s shoulders slumped, “Maybe you think that way, but I can’t help but feel like it is.” he said as Skye squeezed his hand again, leaning in more and giving her a soft look. “After everything that’s happened…”

“It’s not your fault. It’ll never be your fault.”

The two then fell silent and stared at one another for what seemed like a long time before they suddenly found their lips connecting. Grant’s hand moved to Skye’s back, inching up the back of her shirt. Skye leaned back as Grant’s free hand found itself buried in her hair, his lips still on hers.

“Grant,” she began, her voice coming out as a moan. “We,”

Grant found himself moving over her as they readjusted themselves on the bed, “I like you, Skye.” he huffed out. “That’s why I want you to be  _ safe _ . I can’t lose anything else.”

Skye moaned again as Grant started to take her shirt off, pressing his lips to the crook of her neck. His skin was extremely warm against hers as he shifted against her body, almost as though there was a fire burning within him.

“I… I like you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And screw a slow burn. I'm jumping into the relationship fast, even though I do think I built it up well in the short time period. And I will say that the events of this chapter will throw a wrench in things later. If anyone can actually guess what that may be. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	7. The Killer in the Mirror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Brief mention of a suicide attempt.

(The Next Morning)

Skye slowly began to stir, feeling a weight across her side. Peeling her eyes open, she looked to see Grant’s arm holding her close, a hitch in her breath,  _ “Oh, yeah. We… We slept together. The heat of the moment got to us.”  _ she thought.  _ “But, I don’t think it was a just because. He said that he liked me. I… I think I like him, but we’ve only known each other like a week and a half? Jeez, and we’ve already had sex with SHIELD on our asses. Great way to spend the time.”  _

She sighed and stared at the far wall, seeing that the small mirror had fallen and had shattered on the floor,  _ “Well, that goes to show that sex isn’t the safest thing for me. Probably should get out of here soon. Strange earthquake activity might alert SHIELD somehow. But, they’re not really knowledgeable of my powers like how they are with Grant’s. Maybe,” _

She was jerked out of her thoughts as Grant began to stir as well, his arm tightening around her waist and drawing her closer. He eventually completely woke, sitting up and staring at Skye as she sat up as well. 

“So…” He scratched at the back of his head, ruffling his jet-black hair even more. “Uh, that happened.” He looked around the room, seeing both scattered and shattered items all about, “Maybe that’s not the best thing to do with a government agency after us. But…. But, that was, uh, nice.” Blush started to rise quickly to his cheeks. “I-I didn’t push myself onto you, did I?”

Skye shook her head, “No, no you didn’t.” she replied, looking him straight in the eyes so she didn’t stare at his bare chest. “I wanted it, too. You would’ve known if I didn’t.”

“Oh, good.” Grant swallowed, a small smile pulling at his lips as Max suddenly appeared at the foot of the bed. He patted his lap, signalling for the shepherd to jump up and lay his head in his lap. Grant’s smile grew as he petted the dog between his ears. “That’s good to know.” he continued. “It just kind of happened really fast, so I wasn’t thinking very much.”

Skye blushed, pulling the sheets up to cover her bare breasts, “I don’t think I was either. But, I think we need to get going soon.” she answered, looking back at the scattered items. “I think we were lucky that nothing caught on fire. But, there’s no telling if a random earthquake in the middle of the night got SHIELD’s attention or not. Is this area even earthquake prone?”

Grant shrugged, “Hell if I know, but you’re right.” he stated, petting Max’s head again. “It could’ve alerted them. We didn’t think about, uh, doing it could trigger our powers.”

“Doing it?” Skye raised an eyebrow. “It’s called sex, Grant. Are you like twelve or something? Grown-ass man can’t say the word sex to the woman he just had sex with.”

The blush quickly returned to Grant’s cheeks and he looked away, too flustered to say anything back to her. He scratched the back of his head again and Skye figured that it was a nervous tic of sorts. But, she thought it was kind of cute. This Grant and the one SHIELD hated seemed to be two drastically different people. But, she didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. Even though a part of her knew that this was the real him because he felt safe enough to open up around her.

Grant eventually shook his head and ordered Max to get down, swinging his feet over the side of the bed. “Like I said, you’re right about getting the hell out of here.” he stated. “Get cleaned up and pack everything up. It’s not much further to the safehouse. Hopefully killing that entire team threw SHIELD off for a while. But, we don’t need to do anything else that will end up drawing their attention to us.”

Skye’s eyes widened as Grant stood to his feet and she was met with the sight of his bare ass, “Like having earth-shattering sex?” she asked with a smirk, even though he couldn’t see it.

Grant blushed even more as he bent down to grab his underwear off of the floor, “Well, that’s one way.” he mumbled, slipping the underwear on. “But still, we have to be careful. There’s no telling to what they’ll be willing to do now that I’ve killed ten more of their men. They were already willing to put a diner full of innocent civilians at risk just to kill me. They’re desperate to get rid of me. We’re at war now.”

Skye swallowed as she slipped out of bed and started to find her clothes, “A war that we have no way out of.” she stated. “Not until one side’s dead.”

“And I want that to be SHIELD.” Grant answered with a slight growl. “They think me to be some kind of demon. Some kind of blight against them. Thing is. I don’t know what they hate more at this point. Me or the Inhuman race.” He started to slip his jeans on. “But, they’re the ones that are going to fall. I don’t even think the normal population knows to what they’re actually doing with us. I think SHIELD tells the world that they’re just rounding up the Inhumans for ‘training’. I don’t pay much attention to those kind of things. But they’re definitely not telling the world the truth, that’s for sure.”

“Then why not try to expose them?” Skye suggested, starting to put her own clothes. “Find some way to expose the horrors of the ‘camps’ to the world? Instead of trying to kill more?”

Grant shook his head, slipping his black Henley on, “I don’t know how much that would work. A lot of people fear us, so they may think it justified.” he answered. “And I think the higher portions of the government supports Ainsley, so they’ll protect him. You know that protest doesn’t work that much nowadays. Just exposing them isn’t going to work.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, “We  _ have  _ to fight back. I think violence is the answer here.”

“And how do you expect to fight against an entire organization, Grant?” Skye asked, turning back to face him as she buttoned up her shirt. “We may be Inhumans, but we’re still just two people. We’re nowhere near invincible.” She shifted and grimaced as pain shot through the leg that had been shot the day before. “We can’t take them on all by ourselves. We need help.”

Grant looked away, “I don’t want anyone else getting involved.” he stated gruffly. “Humans will betray us. Inhumans will just get hurt or killed because of  _ them.  _ No one else needs to be involved, Skye. This is my war. I’ve already gotten you involved, and you’re already hurt. I can’t let that happen again. Not again.”

Skye took a breath and came to sit down beside him. She placed a gentle hand on his thigh, “Grant, I’ve already told you that it wasn’t your fault.” she stated lightly. “I’m the one that decided to stay. If anything, I put myself in this mess. You don’t need to go around blaming for stuff you can’t help. And SHIELD’s the ones that put you in this position.”

Grant drew in a long breath and let it out slowly, moving his hand so it was on top of Skye’s, “I wanna believe you, Skye.” he began. “But there’s always going to be that part of me that blames myself for everything that I’m going through, even if it was SHIELD who stabbed me in the back. Sometimes, I don’t know what to do. I just want a way out of it. And… And I’ve tried before. But, it didn’t work.”

Skye’s stomach dropped as she realized what he was talking about. Now that she thought about it, she did vaguely remember seeing a long, jagged scar on his right forearm the night before, but of course she wasn’t really thinking about it then. So, he had tried to take his own life before. Her heart froze as pain began to shine in his eyes. 

“Sometimes, all I see when I look in the mirror is a monster. I see a demon staring right back at me. Nothing but a killer.” he continued, his voice low. “I don’t know why I keep on going like this. I just get so tired of it sometimes. I want to see the day that SHIELD falls, but I don’t know if I can last that long.” He took another deep breath, “I don’t know if all of this is worth it or not. I just don’t know.”

“Grant,” Skye began, giving his hand a light squeeze. “Look, I don’t know what you’ve been through. I mean, you’ve told me, but I don’t know how much it’s really affected you, so I don’t know what to say. But I think fighting SHIELD  _ is  _ worth it. Don’t you want to see the day Inhumans can live peacefully. Maybe… Maybe we can be the one that make that happen. Isn’t that what you want?”

Grant looked towards her, “Yeah, but sometimes I just don’t know, Skye.” he answered. “I’m just tired.”

“It’s not going to be easy, especially with what’s happened to you. But, we can make that happen somehow. We’ll find a way. It’s got to be out there.”

A small smile pulled at Grant’s lips, “You’re really the optimist, aren’t you?”

She squeezed his hand again, “Well, I try to be.” she answered with a slight smile. “Makes things easier sometimes. But, I’m like you. I want a way out of all of this. We… We just have to find it before it’s too late. Like I said, it’s out there somewhere.” She leaned over and gently kissed him on his bearded cheek, getting up and walking into the bathroom. 

Blush quickly returned to Grant’s freckled cheeks once more and he brought a hand to his cheek, watching as Skye closed the bathroom door. He shook his head and looked down to Max, who sat at his feet and looked up at him with watchful eyes. “She… She really does like me, Max.” he whispered to the dog, leaning over to pet him. “I like her optimism, but it doesn’t do much for me. I don’t know if we can really do this or not.

I still think it’s all going to go terribly wrong.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, with this I'm hoping to really speed things up within the next couple of chapters with a time jump of about two weeks or so. Maybe not the next chapter, but soon. Things will really start to get interesting, especially with the plot twist I have planned (can you guess what it is?). Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	8. I Hit the Ground Crashing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The worst comes to be.

(Two Weeks Later)

It didn’t take much longer for Grant and Skye to get to the safehouse, which proved to be fairly safe. It had been just about two weeks now since SHIELD had attacked them and they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of them. Which, they were extremely thankful for, even though it made them uneasy. SHIELD could still descend on them at any waking moment.

In the short time period, they had grown even closer together, but didn’t stray past the occasional kiss on the cheek. They hadn’t bothered to sleep together since that day, Skye tending to stay in her own room. Grant’s nightmares had started to become worse because of his growing fear, so he wanted Skye to stay away from him at night in case he accidently ended up lashing out at her during a nightmare. He just wanted her to stay safe.

Grant feared that he had gotten her into a war that she could've avoided if he had run her off that first day. He blamed himself for getting her into this mess and he was afraid that she would only get hurt because of him. Hell, she had already gotten a bullet through the thigh. He feared that it would get much, much worse than just that.

Right now, his only priority was keeping the both of them safe until it was time to move to the next safehouse.

“You know, it’s been unusually quiet on SHIELD’s end.”

Grant frowned and looked up, seeing Skye looking at her computer screen, “What do you mean?” he asked. “What did I tell you about snooping in SHIELD’s files? That’ll let them pinpoint our location.”

She shook her head, “I’m only monitoring their movements.” she answered. “They haven’t really done much in terms of tracking us down. Either they gave up or they’re planning something big.”

“I’m hoping for the first option.” Grant stood and stretched. “We just need a break for once, but I don’t think that they’ll give up until I’m dead and buried. We’ll never be able to stop running.” He came and stood behind her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, “I’m sorry that I drug into this mess. I should’ve told you to run that first day.”

“Grant, don’t. We’ve talked about this time and time again” Skye began, staring at the computer screen, seeing Max paddle around out the corner of her eye. “It’s not your fault. I begged to stay. The only blame is on SHIELD and SHIELD only. There’s no blame on you. You’re just trying to keep us safe.”

Grant’s shoulders slumped, “Yeah, it’s just…. It’s just that I could be doing more to protect you. Honestly, I don’t really care about me at this point, I just don’t want you getting hurt.” he stated softly. “I’m trying, but it’s us against an entire army. Superpowers or not. Us alone aren’t going to be able to do  _ anything  _ against the entirety of SHIELD. It’s one against a thousand.”

“Do you really want to fight back, Grant?” Skye asked, closing her laptop. “I know that you want to take them down so the Inhumans can live in peace, but do you really think that fighting back is going to do a single thing against that kind of hate? Prejudice like that can’t be taken down so easily. It’ll take a lot to change things.”

“Did that stop any other revolution, Skye? There has to be a way to change things, even if I’m getting tired of running and fighting at this point. There has to be some way or another. Somewhere out there.”

Skye stood to her feet and turned to face him, looking him straight in the eyes, “I’m sure that we’ll find it, but we’ll have to fight to find it. It’s out there somewhere, just like you said. We’re just not looking in the right places. I just hope that we can find it before it’s too late, Grant. Before SHIELD kills us all.”

Grant’s shoulders tightened as anger briefly shone in his eyes, “I won’t let that happen.” he growled lightly. “You know that I’ll kill them all before I’ll let that happen. I still want them all dead. I’m just tired of trying.”

“Like I’ve said, killing them isn’t the way, Grant. We have to find another way. If you want to change things properly, you can’t be a killer. That’ll only make things worse for you in the end. We’ve got to find a better way.”

Grant pushed away from her and shook his head once again, “I don’t know of another way, Skye. They all deserve to die for what they’ve done to us.” he hissed, turning around. “Maybe you can find another way, but  _ that’s  _ the way I want. I’ll kill every last one of them if given the chance. They can’t continue to live as long as they’re still mistreating the Inhumans. I can’t allow it.”

“And you’re just going to become an even bigger monster in the end, Grant.” Skye continued lightly. “Is that what you really want?”

“If I have to become the demon they think me to be in order to put a end to them, then so fucking be it.” Grant took a sharp breath and ran his hands through his hair. “They’ll still be the bigger monsters in the end. No matter what I do.” His hands shook as he stared down at them, “But, there’s already so much damn blood on my hands that more won’t even matter. I’m going to do something about it all regardless. I want them to fall, Skye. They don’t deserve to stand any longer.”

Skye sighed, “Grant, we need to think this through before you decide to charge at them.” she began. “You,”

“Is there really any thinking this through?” Grant asked, heading towards the door. “I’ve thought about it for the past year. I’ve done enough thinking. If this is the way I want to approach things, then it’s the way I’m going to approach things. I’ve thought about what I want to do long enough. I don’t care to what I do as long as it keeps you safe.”

“Grant,”

“Don’t. There’s no use trying to argue it, Skye.” Grant stopped right at the door, reaching for the knob. “I’m going outside to clear my head. Can you watch Max?”

Skye sighed and turned back around as Grant opened the door, “Yeah, fine. You….” She trailed off as something thudded to the floor. She spun back around to see Grant lying on the floor, the door still open, with something sticking out of his neck. Max yipped and ran over to sniff his owner, wondering to just what was going on.

“Grant!”

“Skye…” Grant’s vision started to grow dark as he reached out towards her, pain stinging in his neck as he tried his best to move his body. But none of his limbs would respond to him at all. It was like he was shutting down. But he knew what was going on. SHIELD. They had jinxed themselves by thinking SHIELD was long gone, but they were really waiting right outside their doorstep.

“Run. They’re… They’re here. Don’t…. Don’t want you to….”

Skye started towards him, but stopped as something flew through the open door with a muffled whoosh and struck her right in the shoulder. She suddenly felt heavy as she looked to see a small, rounded tube sticking out of her shirt. “Oh, shit.”

“Skye….” Grant reached out for her again, seeing her fall to the ground, Max now running towards her. “Skye….” But the darkness started to overtake him faster than he could fight back. His eyes started to force themselves shut as someone stepped over him and a seemingly-familiar figure stepped into view. Grant heard warbled voices as he slipped into unconsciousness.

“This is Agent Coulson, I’ve acquired the targets.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I decided to go ahead and implement the time skip, but I hope that it worked well enough. But, with this, the true action of the fic is here and one of the major twists will be within the next couple of chapters (still, any guesses?). Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	9. And The Wind Keeps Tearing It Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath.

(Sometime Later)

Grant’s eyes snapped open and he shot up, a harsh growl escaping his lips as he saw the stark gray metal surrounding him. He rubbed at his head, remembering seeing Skye fall to the ground just before he had fallen unconscious.

_ “Those fucking fools.”  _ he thought, turning around on the bare cot to face the heavy iron door.  _ “How did they sneak up on us like that? How much time has past? Where the hell did they take Skye? Where the fucking hell is my dog?”  _ He stood to his feet, wincing as the cold metal beneath his feet stung his bare skin. Looking down, he saw that he was in some kind of black, skin-tight medical uniform, metallic inhibitor cuffs around his wrists. They had stripped him of anything that he had, marking him as nothing. 

_ “They’ve taken extra precautions with me. Two inhibitor cuffs and an inhibitor cell. They don’t want any chance of a single spark escaping from me. Figures. They’ve learned. I can’t say that they’re not smart. They know how to change the tide to their favor. They got the upperhand and got the both of us. And there’s no telling to where Skye is. Or where Max is.”  _ Another growl escaped his lips and he slammed his hand against the wall, the metal vibrating underneath his strength. The cell was obviously built to withstand one hell of a monster. 

Grant sighed, stepping back and staring at his hands. He couldn’t even feel a single ember underneath his skin. He was completely powerless and trapped in the middle of the enemy’s stronghold. He knew that this had to be Tartarus all over again. SHIELD wasn’t playing any games when it came to him this time around. They were looking to keep him trapped like a wounded animal until they could do whatever they liked with him. He knew that he would be cut open before they finally killed him. 

Yet another growl rumbled from his chest and he stalked up to the heavy metal door and slammed his fist on the door, “Let me out, you fuckers!” he screamed, slamming the door again. “I want out of here! I want you to give her back to me! You can’t do this! I-” 

A jolt of electricity suddenly jumped from the door, knocking him back a few feet. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his arm where the electricity had hit him.  _ “They’re really not taking any chances with me, are they? They don’t want any chance of me getting out of here.”  _ he thought, sitting back up and going back over to the door.  _ “But where did they put Skye? I know that she’s not this heavily guarded. But I hope that she’s still here somewhere. I… I can’t bear to lose her. Not now.” _

He closed his eyes tightly, listening to the sound of his own breathing. But he frowned as he picked up on voices outside, which seem to be coated in laughter.  _ “Guards. Of course.” _

He tried to listen to what they were saying.

“That guy must’ve burned his brains out. He should know that he can’t get out of a SHIELD cell. He  _ used  _ to be a top agent, right? So he should know that.”

“Yeah, but he only thinks of one thing right now and that’s killing us. So he’s probably pissed off that we’ve locked him up. Better be careful with him. Make sure that everything in the cell is functioning 24/ 7. Can’t risk him getting out. At all.”

“Oh, definitely. And say, what did the higher-ups say that they were going to do with him? I know that they’re not just killing him right away.”

“I think that our instructions said to guard him until the science types come to get him. And considering that he’s awake now, probably within the next day or so. I just don’t know what they’re going to do with him, though. Don’t want to know anyways.”

“What about that girl they found with him?”

“She’s in a holding cell nearby. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with her though, considering what her exam found out yesterday.”

Grant’s stomach dropped, what the hell were they talking about? What was wrong with Skye?

“What the hell do you mean, Ruiz?”

“You didn’t hear this from me, but apparently she’s a couple weeks pregnant. With that monster’s child. Not sure what they’re going to do with it, though. They’ll probably get rid of it.”

And with that, Grant’s breath was robbed from his chest and he stumbled backwards, falling over his own feet and crashing to the stone cold floor. He pulled his knees up to his chest, pressing at the sides of his head with his hands, feeling a panic attack coming on. 

Pregnant? That… That didn’t make any sense. No, wait…. They  _ had  _ slept together over two weeks ago. And of course that had to be one time to get her knocked up. 

Grant breathed heavily, trying to steady himself to avoid freaking out. But how could he not freak out? Skye was currently locked up here as well with an unborn child.  _ Their  _ unborn child. He started to breath faster as the realization that he was going to have a child hit him. Well, if SHIELD didn’t get to them first. There was the more than likely chance that they’ll just kill the baby way before it was ever born. Or it would be born just to be a test subject. 

A sob escaped his lips and he buried his head into his knees. Everything was starting to fall apart around him and he was helpless to do a single thing. To him, he was nothing without his powers in this situation. He was one man against a thousand, his SHIELD training would do nothing for him here. Absolutely nothing. He couldn’t do anything against the might of the enemy here. Both he and Skye were trapped here. 

No, not the both of them. All of them. Their…. Their child was stuck here as well. He would never be able to wrap his head around that. But, he had to get Skye and their child out of here, no matter the cost to him. Perhaps he would become the demon SHIELD thought him to be in order to save what he loved. 

But, would he let himself fall even further in order to do so? 

_ “What… What do I do at this point? I’m powerless. I don’t even know if Skye’s here or not. I’m completely sure that this is Tartarus, so there’s no way that I’m getting out of here. The only way I got out last time was because I got transferred to a science base. But there’s no way in hell that they’re doing that this time around. They’ll have the scientists come here.  _

_ And then there’s the matter of what they’re going to do with Skye and… And the baby. Does she even know yet? I have to find her. I have to get to her. I can’t leave her all alone in this hell of a base. I don’t even want to know what they’ll do to her.  I can’t… I can’t….” _

More tears started to roll down his cheeks and in that moment he wanted to melt away into nothing. But, that was only a major part of him. The smaller part wanted the death of everyone in this base. That part wanted to become the monster SHIELD thought him to be. And, just maybe, he could let that part take over. Just so he could save what little he loved. That’s all he wanted. But he was oh so powerless to do so. 

Grant just sat there for what seemed like forever until the door started to clank, catching his attention. He stood to his feet as it swung open and three heavily armed guards came in, each holding a shock baton just in case he decided to try something funny. 

“What the fuck do you want?” he spat, clutching his fists. “Haven’t you done enough to me already?! Where’s Skye?! What. Do. You. Want.”

“For right now, I just want to talk Grant. Nothing more.”

A chill shot down Grant’s spine at the sound of the voice. A very familiar voice. 

“You’re okay, men.” the voice said. “I can take it from here. I trust him enough to not hurt me.”

“But, sir.” one guard started. “You,”

“I’ll be fine.” 

The guards wrinkled their noses and parted, allowing the other man to come into the room. Grant’s stomach completely froze as he met the man’s eyes. No, this couldn’t be happening.  _ He  _ couldn’t be the one responsible for bringing him in. There was no way that he would betray him like this. Not him of all people. Especially after everything that he had done for him in the past. There was just no way.

“Coulson?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's a lot to process here, but I hinted at the twist a few chapters ago, though. But it will definitely make things interesting in the chapters to come. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (I really appreciate feedback! I need some ideas for what to do next.)


	10. I Just Got to Let Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Coulson talk.

“You son of a bitch!”

Grant flung himself at Coulson, but the older man held up a small device in his hand and Grant stopped dead in his tracks. He glared at the small remote in Coulson’s hand, knowing just what it did. It was a remote to his cuffs; it would cause them to shock and render him unconscious. It was more or less insurance on SHIELD’s end. 

“I don’t to hurt you, Grant.” Coulson stuffed the remote into his suit pocket and slowly raised his hands. “I really don’t.”

“Hurt me?!” Grant snapped. “You brought me back to hell, Coulson! And I thought that you were on my fucking side!”

Coulson swallowed, “I  _ am  _ on your side, Grant.” he began slowly. “You’ve just got to let me explain things. We’re alone here. One condition of me coming to talk to you is that the comms to this cell are cut off. I knew that you would feel better that way. They can see us, but they can’t hear us. That allows me to say what I want to say. You’ve… You’ve just to hear me out, Grant.” His face softened, “Please.”

Grant’s eyes narrowed, “What could you possibly even have to say to me?” he asked coldly. “You ambush me and Skye, dragging us back to the one place I never even want to see again. Why? What the hell did they do to you, Coulson? This isn’t like you at all.”

Coulson shook his head, “They didn’t do anything to me, Grant. Not like that.” he began. “Other than get on my last nerve.” He looked around before looking back to Grant, “Hear me out, but I want to help take Ainsley’s corrupted regime down. But, I can’t do it alone.”

A muscle twitched in Grant’s face, “Then why the hell are you asking me?” he growled. “You’re the one that brought me in.”

Coulson let out a soft chuckle, “I thought you were supposed to be smarter than this, Grant. I had to bring you in so I could be able to talk to you without it looking suspicious. They put me on your case only because I happened to be your SO before. They agreed with it because they thought that I would be the best to bring you in since I know you, Grant. Luckily, it worked.”

“Then why bring me straight into SHIELD’s worst camp?”

“Because, if everything goes the way I planned, it’ll cause some serious damage. I have established contact with some other Inhumans in this camp that of your caliber. I plan to stage a breakout within the coming days. I have a team on the outside who are going to help.” Coulson explained lightly. “A breakout of prisoners of your caliber will cause Tartarus to fall, causing a serious dent in SHIELD’s side.”

Grant took a sharp breath, a part of him feeling slightly relieved. Of course Coulson wouldn’t bring him in just to bring him in. Of course there had to be some big, elaborate plan behind it all. But, another part of him still didn’t trust Coulson. He had to see things work first before he trusted the man fully again. 

He turned, “Where’s my dog?” he asked, moving the subject on. “Where’s Skye?”

Coulson nodded, knowing that Grant wouldn’t agree to anything until he knew everyone else was safe. “Your dog is with my team, I promise that he’s being well taken care of. You don’t have to worry about him.” he answered. “But, Skye’s here. I managed to get her into a holding cell for now. But there’s only so much I can do. They’ll move her sooner or later.”

“Do you know she’s pregnant?” Grant asked sharply. “Did you know that you drug a pregnant Inhuman to the worst place possible?! You know very well that they won’t let the baby be!”

Coulson’s face fell and paled, “Grant, you know very well that there’s no way that I could’ve known that.” he stated quietly. “I don’t even know how you know. Hell, I don’t even think that Skye knows herself yet.”

Grant jerked his thumb towards the door, “Those guards of yours have some fucking big mouths, you know.” he growled. “They should learn how to keep their mouths shut around me.” He clenched his teeth and fell silent.

“Then, we’ll have to make sure that this breakout happens soon.” Coulson ran a hand through his hair. “This puts a kink in things. Skye won’t have much time since she’s carrying your child. The higher-ups won’t like that one bit. They’ll rip that child from her the first time they have the chance. They won’t let it live. I’ll try my best to hold things back for as long as I can, considering I’m technically in charge of her as well. But, I don’t think that we have much time. I’ll have to touch base with my team and update them on the situation. We better do this within the next few days if we are to get all three of you out.”

Grant’s body started to shake, “Wait, then why me?!” he demanded. “Why drag me back into all of this?!”

“Because there’s no one with more rage and willpower to fight against SHIELD than you.” Coulson answered lightly. “You’re the one person I know that will be more than willing to tear SHIELD apart from its very seams.”

“And how do you plan on this coup?” Grant laughed darkly. “Aisley has his reach into the entirety of SHIELD. Most of this damned organization buys into his anti-Inhuman bullshit. How do you expect to overthrow him just like that? Someone else just like him will be right there to take his place. Tear off one head and two or three take its place.”

“Honestly, I haven’t gotten that far yet, but I know that, somehow, all of this will work in the end.” Coulson answered. “But, we’ve have to take this camp down and get you out. That’s the very first thing that needs to be done. Once you and Skye are out, we’ll meet up at an undisclosed location. We’ll then plan from there.”

Grant narrowed his eyes once again, “I will only help you if you can ensure that Skye will be safe. That our baby will be safe. If either of them gets hurt, it’s on your hands because you drug this back into this mess. You know that I have a very good reason not to trust you, you know. I know that we know each other, but you still are a SHIELD agent. I can’t trust anyone that calls themselves that.”

Coulson took a sharp breath, “Grant, I understand that. SHIELD’s seriously fucked you over time and time again.” he stated. “But remember who pulled you from juvie. It may have been SHIELD, but it was me who made the decision to take you in and take you under my wing. I think you can trust me. I’ll make sure that Skye and your child are safe. I can’t guarantee that, but I’ll try my hardest to make sure that no one gets hurt that’s on our side. We have to do whatever it takes to take down SHIELD’s corrupted reach. I don’t like what’s happening to the Inhumans. 

Perhaps we can expose their crimes to the world. I don’t think that they’ll agree with an organization that is basically performing genocide of an entire race.” he continued. “One that rips unborn babies from their mothers’ wombs. One that experiments on people until they’re dead. I know that a lot may fear the Inhumans, but there’s a line that has to be drawn somewhere or another. Hopefully, we can find someway to rip this all down.”

Grant’s eyes flared, “If you let me do whatever the hell I want to them, then I’ll agree to this plan of yours, Coulson.” he growled. “I want to tear SHIELD down and burn it until nothing’s left at all.”

Coulson smiled and sighed, “You know, you didn’t used to be this violent-minded, Grant.” he stated. “SHIELD really did a number on you, didn’t they?” He sighed again, “But you’ve been through hell and back again, so it’s expected that you would want them all gone. I’m going to have to set down some rules for you, though. I can’t have you burning every SHIELD agent you see. That isn’t going to end well for you, not at all. I don’t want your violence to be your downfall, Grant. There’s a reason to why many here call you a demon.”

Grant snarled, “If they want me to be a demon, then so be it.” he hissed. “All long as they’re the ones that are on fire.”

“Well, I’m glad that you’re on board.” Coulson answered lightly, turning back towards the door. “I’ll visit again tomorrow with some better plans. I’ll visit Skye later today to make sure that everything’s okay with her and I’ll tell you how she’s doing tomorrow.”

Grant stepped forward just as Coulson reached to rap on the door, “Please, don’t tell her about the baby. I don’t want her to worry just yet. That’ll only make things worse for her.” he pleaded. “I don’t want her knowing until we’re out of this shithole. I think she can wait a couple of days to know, even though she’ll be pissed at me for keeping it from her. But, I think that her not knowing is for the best.”

Coulson nodded, “I’ll see what I can do.” he answered. “Oh, and it’s best that you step back to your cot. The guards won’t like it at all if you’re right at the door when they open it.” He knocked loudly on the door, “Ready.” he called. “I just don’t want you being knocked out is all.”

Grant stiffened up and walked backwards as the heavy cell door swung open to reveal those same two black-clad guards. Coulson filed out without another word or a look towards him, not wanting to make himself seem suspicious.

Grant slumped down onto his cot, burying his head into his hands,  _ “What have I gotten myself into?”  _ he asked himself.  _ “I just want them to be safe. I just want SHIELD to die. But at what cost? _

_ What the hell is going to happen to me?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Coulson isn't a bad guy here. He replaces Garrett with taking Grant out of juvie. So I hope that it works! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	11. We are Gods, We are Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant lets his wrath be known.

(Two Days Later)

Grant hadn’t heard anything else from Coulson since he had told him about the breakout plan. Coulson  _ was  _ supposed to come the day before to talk to him more about the plan, but he had never shown up. Grant just hoped that the man had gotten tied up. But he feared that either something had happened to Coulson or the man had been lying. He really didn’t want it to be the latter. 

Now, earlier that day, several guards had shown up in his cell and had drug him to the labs, which was the one place Grant feared the most. He feared what they would do to him. He feared what they would do to Skye and the baby. This was Tartarus, there was no telling to what the scientists here would do to him. He had been transported to a different science base the last time around, but he knew that things were much different this time. 

“Hey! Touch me and I’ll rip your fucking head off.” Grant growled as the guards slammed him down onto a table and started to strap him down. “And I mean that.”

A scientist laughed and stepped forward, “You’ve got quite the mouth on you, Mr. Ward. But, I’m afraid that you can’t do anything since you’re powerless at the moment. You may have used to been a high-ranking SHIELD operative, but I don’t think that even those skills can save you here.” The scientist stopped at the side of the table, smirking down at Grant, “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

Grant spat in the man’s face, “Go to hell.” he growled. “I don’t care to what you want.”

“That’s… Unfortunate.” the scientist frowned and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, wiping the spit off of his face. He waved the guards off, “I don’t need you brutes crowding around my workspace. You can stand at the sides of the room. Mr. Ward is supposed to have one of the highest healing rates of any Inhuman we’ve ever had, so I would like to test that. I don’t think you want blood on you, do you?”

The guards grumbled and stalked away, leaving the scientist alone with Grant.

Grant’s eyes flared as the scientist leaned over him, “What did I say about touching me?” he growled. He thrashed against the restraints. “You don’t fucking touch me. No one touches me.”

The scientist let out a laugh, “You can call me Michaels.” he stated, ignoring what Grant had said. “I’m going to have a field day with you, Mr. Ward. I’ve been waiting so long for SHIELD to bring you in. “

“How about I just call you jackass?” Grant suggested, raising an eyebrow. “Like I said, I don’t care to what you want. I just want the hell out of here.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Michaels commented, pulling up a table that contained a variety of surgical equipment. “You’ll be dead by the day’s end. I just want to have some fun with you before they take you to your execution. I’m not sure to what they’ve decided on yet, but I’m sure that it’ll be fitting for a monster such as yourself.” He laughed as Grant’s eyes flared again, “How many people have you killed in your rage?” he asked. “How much blood is on your hands?”

“And how much blood is on  _ your  _ hands?” Grant shot back. “I’m nothing compared to what SHIELD has done. SHIELD is committing the genocide of an entire race and you have the audacity to call me a monster. That’s pot calling the kettle black. How many Inhumans have you killed with your ‘experiments’? I am nothing compared to what you have done.”

Michaels’ smile grew, “We are only preserving the sanctity of the human race, Mr. Ward.” he stated. “The Inhumans are a blight that must be removed.”

“You know, I’m pretty sure that I’ve heard something like that before.”

“Now, your commentary isn’t needed. Maybe I’ll just start by removing that mouth of yours. Wonder how fast that can grow back.”

Grant lashed against the restraints again, “Just wait until I get the fuck out of these!” he snapped. “I’ll rip your damn head off, you hear me!”

Michaels laughed again, “You really have some spirit in you, too bad you’ll be dead by the end of the day.” he stated, almost coldly. “Guess I’ll have to move onto that bitch of yours. We don’t know much about her. Other than she’s pregnant with that demon spawn of yours.”

Sparks of fire flared from Grant’s eyes, “I’ll kill you if you even lay a damn finger on them!” he screamed. “You leave them alone! Skye’s done nothing wrong. I”m the one who drug her into this! You leave her alone!”

“She’s an Inhuman. That’s more than enough reason to deal with her.” Michaels reached for a scalpel. “And then there’s the matter of that  _ child  _ of yours. Full-blooded Inhuman.” The man snarled and shook his head, “That  _ thing  _ is better off dead before it has the chance to become an abomination. Guess we’ll have to deal with the both of them at once.”

Steam was slowly rising from Grant’s skin, but he was still unable to summon any flames. But, he knew if he got angry enough, the rise in his skin temperature might end up melting the restraints. And, he was just about at that point. 

“That shows just how fucking corrupt you pieces of shit are.” Grant hissed through clenched teeth. “You’re willing to kill an unborn child just because you think it’s somehow a monster. You call me a demon, but the only demons I see here are you.”

“I’d like to concur.” Michaels stabbed the scalpel into Grant’s skin, causing the Inhuman to scream out. “I’m not the one with flames.”

“G-Go to hell.” Grant stammered, the air around him shimmering. “I-I want you dead.” 

Michaels stepped back, looking at the guards, “What’s going on?!” he demanded. “He’s got two fucking inhibitors on him! He shouldn’t be able to use his powers!” 

Another scientist came running up, panic clear on his face, “Sir, we’re having system errors all across the board. The inhibitors, they’re,”

“They’re dead.”

Flames shot from Grant’s body and he flew into Michaels’ body, taking the scalpel out of his chest and jabbing it into the side of the scientist’s head. Grant stood up and turned to look at the guards as they all fumbled for their guns. He smiled wickedly and held out a hand, his eyes blazing a demonic red, “Too late. And I don’t think that’s going to do anything to me here.”

A wall of flames shot from his hand and blazed towards the guards, incinerating all five of them. He turned to see that the other scientists had fled, leaving him alone with the corpses.

_ “Oh well, I’ll find them later.”  _ he thought, rubbing at where the scalpel had pierced his skin.  _ “At least it’s healed. System errors? Has to be Coulson’s doing. Wonder why he never told me anything. Good, this puts everyone but me at a disadvantage.”  _ He looked up as an alarm started to blare and the PA system roared to life.

“All guards to all stations! We have a base-wise system error! High level Inhumans are escaping! We need them-” 

The speaker cut off as fast as it had come on. 

_ “I don’t know who else is in here, but more like me are here. Ones way crazier than me. SHIELD will have their hands full. I’ve got to find Skye. Coulson said she was in the holding cells. Hopefully he managed to have her stay there. I know where they are. I get here and we’re getting the hell out of here. I don’t know where Coulson is, but hopefully he’s got a plan. I’m not staying here, I’ve got to get them out of here before someone lays a finger on them.” _

Grant took a sharp breath and turned around, heading out of the lab. He stopped seeing a pair of chains holding up some kind of apparatus.  _ “Don’t mind if I do. Will make things interesting.”  _ he thought, grabbing the chains and letting the apparatus crash violently to the flood. He wrapped the pair of chains around his wrists and walked out of the lab, smiling as he heard pain-filled screams. 

_ “They’re getting what they asked for. I don’t care to what happens to them, as long as they end up dead.” _

Grant continued down the hallway towards where the holding cells were, only stopping when he heard someone’s voice. 

“O-Oh, shit! He’s out, too!”

He turned, his smile growing even more as he recognized the agent standing there. “Collins. Funny how things work, huh?” he asked as the brown-haired man stepped back in fear. Collins had been one of his teammates right before he went through terrigenesis. And he had been the first to turn on him in the end. 

“This… This has something to do with you, doesn’t it?!” Collins yelled, pointing a gun straight at Grant, his hands beginning to shake, “A large-scale breakout just two days after you’re brought in!”

Grant cocked his head, “And so what it is? Means nothing to you. You’re just standing in my way.” he stated coldly. “Move and I might spare you.”

“Do you really hate us? I heard you hate humans.” Collins asked. “You’re a complete monster. How many have you killed?”

“I don't hate humanity, I hate SHIELD. And do you want to know why I hate SHIELD?” Grant asked, taking a step forward. “I was one of their most loyal. And then in a matter of moments, I am nothing to them. And you were the very first to scream and yell at me. I hear your fucking cries and jeers in my nightmares, Collins. The things you called me because of something I couldn’t help.”

“You’re a monster.”

Grant shot forward, knocking the gun from Collin’s hand and wrapping a chain around the man’s neck, “You fear us because we have what you can’t have. We have godlike powers that you don’t understand. And that’s enough to make you turn on a loyal teammate like nothing.” he growled. “Maybe I am a demon, but I am much greater than you.”

Collins swallowed nervously, the chain starting to grow hot, “Do you really think yourself as a god?” he asked quietly. “Do you?”

“No. I’m not a god.” Grant answered. “But I am better than you because I don’t betray someone because of something beyond their control.”

“Then why kill us?”

“Because I can and it’s what you deserve.” 

Grant’s smile grew and he shot flame through the chain, setting the man on fire. He stepped back as Collins began to scream in agony.  _ “It’s what he deserves. He was the first to turn his back on me. He was the beginning of all of this shit. If anything, it’s his fault.”  _ he turned and began to walk away as the man burnt away to ash, the alarms still blaring in his ears. 

_ “Now, Skye. Need to find her and get her the hell out of here. She doesn’t deserve to be tied up in all of this. If something happens to her or the baby, it’s on me. I’m the one that drug her into this. I just hope that Coulson knows what he’s doing with all of this.  _

_ I can’t lose her.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait with this, but I was busy with school stuff. But this is mainly to show more of Grant's dark side, even though it does start the break out. So, Skye will be reappearing next chapter. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	12. A Reason to Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant rescues Skye.

Skye looked up as alarm somewhere outside of the holding cell started to blare and she swore that something exploded. 

_ “Is… Is that Coulson’s doing?”  _ she asked herself, remembering what Coulson had told her the day before. Even though Coulson had done a good job of explaining things, she still wasn’t sure to whether or not she could trust the man. Even if he had been Grant’s SO. He was still SHIELD after all. But, if he was willing to do this much damage to SHIELD in order to get them out, there had to be some good in Coulson. 

_ “I hope that he knows what he’s doing. He said he was able to convince Grant to help, but Grant’s violent. I know that. Grant will probably kill every last agent in this base if given the chance. I don’t think anything could put a stop to Grant’s wrath. It’s almost a being of its own. I just…” _

Her thoughts trailed off as the cell door clanged and she pushed herself backwards on the small cot that she was on.  _ “Coulson told me to stay here.”  _ she thought.  _ “That Grant would come and get me. But, can I really just sit back and do nothing? I do have powers. I could fight. But, I don’t want to end up like Grant. I don’t want any blood on my hands. That isn’t me. But… But, can I really avoid that here? We’ve gotten ourselves in a war. I don’t think I can stay out of fighting.” _

She looked back up as the door suddenly burst open and she jumped to her feet, seeing Grant standing there. “Grant!” she yelled, running up to him and flinging her arms around him. “Thank God it’s you and not anyone else.”

Grant swallowed, pulling away from her, allowing his eyes to flicker down to her stomach briefly. _“She still doesn’t know, or that would’ve been the first thing she would’ve said. How… How do I say it to her?”_ He shook his head, “I made sure that it was no one else. This base is a shitstorm right now.”

Skye blinked, looking his over, seeing that his skin-tight uniform was charred, “You… You haven’t killed anyone, have you?” she asked quietly, frowning as she saw chains wrapped around his wrists. “But I already know the answer to that, don’t I?”

He turned away, “Look, my only concern is getting us out of here, Skye.” he answered. “Who dies between here and the outside doesn’t matter as long as it’s not us. And it’s not like I did it without reason. I have all the reason to kill any SHIELD agent I see as long as they show that they hate me.” He approached her and grabbed her hand, “I assume that Coulson’s touched base with you.”

Skye nodded, trying to move the subject on so she felt more comfortable, “He did. Yesterday.” she answered, pulling a small scrap of paper out of the hem of her black, athletic pants. “And he gave me this.”

Grant took the paper from Skye, opening up and reading it, “These are coordinates.” he answered. “A meeting place. He’s really got things planned out.” He ripped the paper up, causing Skye to frown, “Don’t worry, I’ve got a good memory. I’ll get us out of here. But we need to do it soon. Coulson’s taking a huge gamble with releasing prisoners here. There are Inhumans much worse than me here. 

SHIELD’ll have their hands full with dealing with them, but there’s no telling to what kind of damage that they’ll do once they’re out in the world.” he continued. “Meaning, we don’t want to run into here. They were evil before terrigenesis. That just gave them the means to hurt people more. They won’t hesitate in hurting us. We’ve gotta get out of here before we run into them. Or we run into more SHIELD. Hopefully, they’ll be too busy fighting everyone else.”

“Then what about the innocent Inhumans here?” Skye asked, crossing her arms. “They’re going to die.”

Grant’s face darkened, “We don’t have the time to worry about them.” he stated coldly. “This whole plan of Coulson’s is riding on us getting out safely. They’ll have to deal with things on their own. I know that you don’t like that, but we’ve got no other choice. I’ve got to get you two out of here.”

His stomach dropped as soon as he realized what he had said, seeing Skye’s face fall. She frowned and took a slight step away from him.

“Grant, what the hell are you talking about?” she asked. “What do you mean by ‘you two’?”

Grant shook his head, “I misspoke.” he answered. “Look, we don’t have the time to argue over something I accidently said. I,”

“Grant! I can tell you’re lying.” Skye snapped. “I think you tend to forget that I can feel the vibrations. I can feel whenever you’re lying. You’re hiding something from me. What is it?”

Grant swallowed and took a sharp breath, knowing that there was no way that he could keep something like this from her, “You have no idea, do you?” he asked in a practical whisper. “No one told you, did they?”

Skye’s face fell even more, “Grant, what the  _ fuck  _ are you talking about?” she asked harshly. “What on Earth could you possibly know about me that I don’t?”

“There’s no way around this, is there?”

“Grant,”

“You’re pregnant.” Grant stated coldly, looking her dead in the eyes. “They didn’t tell you, did they? Of course they didn’t.”

Skye’s face fell and grew void of all color, subconsciously bringing her hand to her stomach, “I… I’m  _ what _ ?”

“Look, we don’t have the time to talk about this, Skye. I’ve got to get us out of here before guards get to us.” Grant almost spat. “I don’t want to know what they’ll do to you.”

“Hold on, how the hell did you know that I was pregnant and I didn’t?!” Skye demanded angrily. “How would you know?!”

“Because the guards outside of my cell have some big fucking mouths. I heard it from them, then Coulson. I don’t think he bothered to tell you because he wanted you to hear it from me.” Grant explained, approaching her slightly. “But, we need to talk about this later. If the scientists get a hold of you, it’s game over for that baby.” He pointed at her stomach, “I was just about to be experimented on before the breakout began. That scientist called  _ our  _ baby my demon spawn. Said it was too dangerous to ‘let the thing live’ because it’s fully Inhuman. If SHIELD gets their way, they’re going to rip that baby from you, kill it, then kill you. I’m not going to let that happen. If anything happens to the either of you, it’ll be my fault.”

“How is this your fault, Grant? We  _ both  _ chose to have sex. We didn’t know that it would be the one time it took for me to get knocked up.”

Grant shook his head, “Not that.” he stated. “I should’ve turned you away the day you broke into my cabin. Everything that is happening to you now is my fault because I drug you into this.”

“Grant,” Skye came up to Grant and placed a hand on his shoulder. “None of this is your fault. I was the one that pressured you to let me stay. You didn’t know what would happen. If anything happens to us, then it’s SHIELD’s fault. They’re the ones trying to kill us just because we’re Inhuman. You can’t shoulder the blame.”

Grant moved his hand down to her belly, feeling a small warm flutter and wondering if that was their baby, “Skye, things have gone to a completely other level now that there’s a baby involved. I don’t want it to die. I don’t want SHIELD getting their hands on them. I don’t know what your feelings about the baby are, but…. But, I don’t want to lose it.”

She looked down to Grant’s hand, a warm feeling in her chest at the thought that Grant was already being so protective towards someone who was barely even there. “Honestly, I don’t know what to think yet, Grant. This… This is a lot to take in and I don’t have the time to process it. I… I need some time to think.” she answered. “I just want what’s best… For all three of us.”

Grant took a sharp breath to steady his nerves and gently took Skye’s hand, “Then, I need to get us out of here. Hopefully we’ll have some time to rest and think about things once we meet up with Coulson. I don’t know what his plans for after this are, but I hope that they’ll keep you safe. You… You don’t need to be fighting now.”

Skye frowned, “Why don’t you want me fighting?”

“You said that you end up internalizing your energy when fighting too much, right? If it can break your bones, there’s no telling to what it could do to a developing baby.” he answered quietly, looking over his shoulder as a shout sounded out from somewhere behind him and he could feel someone approaching. “But, we need to go. Now. Someone’s coming. I’m surprised that we’ve had this long. But we need to go. Stay behind me. I’ll clear us a path to the outside.” He turned around and pushed her behind her as a guard suddenly appeared in the doorway, gun drawn. “I’ll die before I let you two get hurt.”

“Hellfire’s out, too!” the guard reported into a walkie-talkie. “He’s currently got Prisoner 394 with him.”

_ “Don’t confront him alone! Withdraw until backup can arrive!” _

Grant’s lips curled into a wicked smile, “Too bad you’re all alone.” he practically cooed. “Makes it easier for me.”

“Grant…” Skye frowned, knowing that she couldn’t possibly change his mind at this point. He had a whole other reason to fight.

“What?” the guard dropped his gun and slowly stepped backwards as Grant’s eyes melted into that demonic red. “Please… I… I….” 

“I don’t care.” 

Grant raised his hand and flames shot forth, racing towards the guard and consumed him, the guard screaming as the hellish flames burnt him to nothing. His smile grew as he grabbed Skye’s hand again, pulling her forward, “Come on, we can’t waste anymore time. Stay behind me. 

I’m keeping you two safe no matter what.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Skye now knows that she's pregnant and isn't sure of what to think about it. But, she doesn't have time to. Probably not good at this point. And, truly, do you guys still like this? Be honest. Reception has been lacking lately and so has my motivation. I want to know if this is something y'all still enjoy and will greatly accept idea for it. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	13. The Rage and The Love in My Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to go downhill.

Grant carefully led Skye down a darkened hallway, still holding her hand tight. He wanted physical contact with her at all times right now, just to make sure that she was still there even though he could feel her heat signature. He stopped halfway down the hallway, turning to look at Skye.    
“Are you alright?” he whispered, looking over his shoulder. “I know that this is a lot for you; that you’re not a fighter.”

Skye took a sharp breath, “I just wish that you weren’t so violent, Grant.” she stated softly. “You don’t have to kill every SHIELD agent that you see. I haven’t even been counting the bodies. I know that you hate SHIELD, but that doesn’t have to make you a murderer. Is that what you really want to be in your child’s eyes?”

Grant’s eyes sparked in the low light, “Right now, it’s either us or them.” he hissed. “I don’t have much of a choice. Those agents won’t hesitant in firing at us. I do what I do in order to keep both of us, no, all  _ three  _ of us safe. And if Coulson expects this little plan of his to work, we can’t stay innocent. And I’ve lost that innocence or whatever a hell of a long time ago, Skye. It doesn’t matter if I add more blood to my hands or not, I already know where I’m going when I die. I can’t make things any worse than they already are. 

And I can’t just sit back and let them keep slaughter our kind just because they think they’re protecting humankind or whatever bullshit they’re trying to pass it as.” he continued. “In order to fight back, I have to make sure that we both survive. I’m assuming that Coulson’s plan is solely relying on us getting out, I’m gonna make sure that happens.”

“Just… Just be careful, Grant. This place is crawling with agents, I can feel it. Even though they’re more than likely fighting the other escapees, there’s still the chance that we could run into more than what we’ve bargained for.” Skye sighed, placing a hand on her abdomen. “Things can’t go wrong now, Grant. Things can’t get worse than they already are. You know, I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Grant’s face fell, “What… What do you mean?”

“Just look at the situation we’re in, Grant. We’re in the middle of SHIELD’s worst Inhuman camp. You’re currently SHIELD’s most wanted, and there’s no telling to what this breakout will do to that. I wouldn’t be surprised if you became wanted by more than just SHIELD after this. SHIELD will want your head.” Skye shook her head, “We probably won’t be able to go anywhere. There will be too many authorities.”

“I’ve ran for over a year, Skye. I think I can handle a bit more.”

“But… Grant, I’m pregnant with your child for God’s sakes.” Skye protested. “That makes things a lot harder. I can’t keep running forever if I’m pregnant. How are we going to raise a child like this?”

“Are you implying that you want to get rid of it?”

Skye’s face paled, “No! That’s not what I am saying at all!” she exclaimed. “I’m just saying that it’ll be hard if,”

“No, it sounds like to me that you’re implying that we would be a whole lot better off if that child was gone.” Grant growled, his eyes sparking again. He continued to stare at her, “Skye, I know that you’re not being honest with me. I just want to know if you think our child is some kind of burden on you. That you won’t go get rid of it the next time I turn my back.”

“Grant, why the fuck would you think that I would do that?!” Skye demanded angrily. “Okay, you want to know the truth? I’m scared. I’m currently carrying a baby that the biggest government organization in the world thinks is some kind of threat. Yet, I don’t want to get rid of it. I’m just scared. What if they’re right and it turns out to be some kind of monster when its born? What,”

“You know that’s not how an Inhuman’s powers work, even if they’re fully Inhuman. They won’t be gifted until they go through the Mist.” Grant snapped, more flames flaring from his eyes. “I understand that you’re afraid, but you’ve got to think here, Skye. That baby will be human until it goes through the Mist, and that won’t happen for a long time. SHIELD is being a fucking coward here. You know that. Look, I’m not staying here any longer arguing with you, Skye.” He paused and took a sharp breath to steady himself, “If we stay here any longer, we’ll be in even more danger. I’m surprised that we haven’t been found yet.” His face softened and he swallowed, “Look, I’m sorry I snapped at you.” he whispered softly. “I… I just don’t want to lose anything else. I don’t want to lose you or our baby. I’m tired of SHIELD taking everything away from me. That’s why I’m so adamant about you keeping it. I know that it’s your choice, but…” He trailed off and shook his head. 

“Hey,” Skye reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Look, let’s just work on getting out of here and getting to those coordinates.” Truly, she didn’t want to talk about the baby right now. She was still too busy trying to wrap her head around everything and just wanted to be somewhere where they all were safe. 

Grant reached out and took Skye’s hand, pulling her forward, “I don’t know how much time we have. I’m sorry. I delayed us. If anything happens, then it’s my fault.” he stated softly. “I’m sorry.”

“Grant, stop blaming yourself. If something happens to us, then it’s SHIELD’s fault.” Skye protested. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself. It’ll only make things worse.” Grant didn’t respond, he just kept leading her forward down the darkened hallway.

_ “His mind’s a mess.”  _ she thought.  _ “There’s no telling what he could be capable of if provoked enough. How much can his rage grow? What’s the extent of his powers? SHIELD calls him one of the most dangerous and most powerful Inhumans. He’s definitely dangerous, but I don’t think I’ve seen the extent of his powers yet. They’re afraid of him for some reason, and it’s definitely not just because he wants to kill him. There’s something he’s hiding. Or something he doesn’t know about.” _

Grant stopped the both of them as they reached the end of the hallway. He raised a finger as he peeked around the corner. “I don’t see anyone. Go quickly.” he whispered. “But be prepared to hide if someone comes. I’ll deal with them.”

Skye sighed, knowing just what ‘deal with them’ meant. There was a part of her that felt that there was something deeper to Grant, that it wasn't just SHIELD's inhumane treatment that had warped him into a senseless killer. But, she didn't even want to begin to guess just what that could be, because the thought scared her. What could Grant's behavior mean for their child? Would their child turn out the same way somehow?

Grant sensed Skye's discomfort, “Skye, it's not like I'm seeking out to kill every last one of them. If they get in our way, I'll properly deal with them.” he stated softly. “It's to protect you. It's to protect  _ them _ .” He pointed at Skye's stomach. “I'll do whatever it takes to protect the both of you. More blood on my hands doesn't mean a single damn thing here.”

Skye’s face fell,  _ “That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”  _ she thought, biting her lip as Grant went out into the hallway.  _ “Just what is he willing to do to keep me and the baby safe? Again, there’s more to him than I think he knows. Something is wrong. Perhaps SHIELD did more to him than he realizes. I think something’s missing here. Maybe… Maybe I should poke around in his file later, try and get into those higher-level parts.” _

“Skye, come on.” Grant snapped, pulling her out of her thoughts. “We need to go there’s-”

“Stop! There he is!”

A snarl immediately ripped from Grant’s chest as he looked up to see guards crowding the end of the hallway. He remained silent, pushing Skye behind him. 

“Orders are shoot to kill with the male. The scientists want the woman.” one guard announced. “Be careful. Aim at him only. And do so quick. He’s dangerous. We can’t allow any room for error here.”

Grant stepped forward, “You aren’t going anywhere with her.” he growled, his eyes immediately on fire. He paused, counting about 8 heavily armed agents. They were still completely underestimating him. “Move your asses, or you won’t have them anymore.”

The lead agent stepped forward, “You don’t understand your situation, do you?” he asked darkly. “I don’t think that we can let you go so easily. We have orders to deal with you.”

Grant snarled and pushed Skye behind a set of crates. And before any of the agents could blink, Grant was right in front of them and had the lead agent hoisted in the air, his hand tightly around his neck. “I said move.” he hissed. “What part of move do you not understand?”

“We have orders to exterminate the threat.” the agent choked out. “High priority orders. Ainsley specifically told us to kill you before you became an even bigger monster than you already are.”

“I don’t give a fuck to what that bastard says.” Grant’s snarl grew even more and he began to squeeze the man’s neck, the other agents afraid to fire. 

The agent’s eyes began to bulge, “What… What did those scientists do to you? You weren’t like this before.” he croaked. “What did… What did those experiments do to you? What did they… What did they turn you into?”

Grant’s eyes flared, but he became frozen, unsure of what the agent was talking about. 

“I don’t know what they were trying to do by making you more powerful. I-”

The agent fell silent as Grant snapped his neck with one, fluid motion. He turned numbly towards the other agents and quickly waved his hand before they had the chance to fire, every last one of them burning to a crisp. 

Grant turned back and headed back to Skye, grabbing her by the hand. But, he didn’t say a single word to her at all. 

“Grant…” she trailed off as he pulled her past the charred bodies and the agent with the snapped neck. Just what could she say to him? She had heard everything the agent had said to him. So, her suspicions were right. SHIELD  _ had  _ done something to him during their experiments. But the agent’s statement about them trying to make Grant more powerful scared her. Why would they want to do such a thing when they hated the Inhumans? Clearly, there was more to uncover about what had happened to Grant during that week he was in SHIELD custody.

And one thing was for sure, Grant didn’t remember a single thing from it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'm starting to get a little darker here with this. But I want darker since I've been posting a lot of lighthearted oneshots. I just hope that y'all will like darker, since that's usually how my longer fics go. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	14. Caught in the Darkness, I Go Blind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye escape.

(Sometime Later)

Grant bursted out of the side of the building in a blast of black smoke and flame. He pulled Skye beside a crate, where he was sure that they would be hidden for a little while, hearing the sound of battle not too far away. “Are you okay?” he whispered, running his hands over her arms, checking for any injuries. “How are you feeling?”

Skye frowned, “If this is how you’re gonna be until the baby get here, then you’re gonna to be annoying.” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m  _ fine.  _ I promise. Just… Just a little shaken up is all. You did a lot back there…”

Grant’s shoulders slumped, remembering just how heated she had gotten towards him over him killing those SHIELD agents. Even though he didn’t regret it, he hated Skye yelling at him in retrospect. He was honestly afraid that she would end up hating or fearing him eventually. And then there was the matter of what that soldier had said. Had Skye heard what he had said? 

“I-I’m sorry that you had to see that, Skye.” Grant whispered. “But, I had no other choice. It’s either us or them. And I’d rather it be them.” He winced at he heard the sound of gunfire again, but it sounded closer this time. “But, I think we need to go now. I think we’ll be safe once we’re out of the compound.” He motioned over towards an abandoned black truck nearby, “That’ll get us out of here. You might have to disable the GPS system in it so SHIELD can’t track us. You can do that, right?”

She shook her head, “Probably not, considering we don’t have much time. I’ll try something, but I might just have to destroy it.” she answered. “I don’t have enough time to hack something right now. And you’re missing one big thing, Grant.”

“And what’s that?”

Skye spread out her hands, “I don’t have a computer with me, so there’s no way to hack into a GPS system.” she stated with a slight smile. “A computer of some sort is pretty much a requirement to hack something.”

Grant frowned, “Oh.” He shook his head, “Just forget about that.” he reached out and grabbed her hand. “Come on, we can’t waste time here. We need to go  _ now _ .” He began to lead her towards the abandoned truck, “I can’t let them get to us. I’m not going back into a cell.”

“Grant, and how are we supposed to figure out where those coordinates lead to?” Skye asked as they headed towards the truck. “Unless you have some kind of GPS device in your head.”

Grant stopped and turned to look at her, “Do you think there’s some way to take out the tracking device in the truck’s GPS system?” he asked. “So we can just use it to find the coordinates?”

Skye shrugged, “I don’t know. I wouldn’t even know what the tracking device in the GPS system would look like.” she stated, crossing her arms. “I’m not an ex-SHIELD agent like you, Grant. I don’t know anything about SHIELD tech other than the fact that some of their firewalls aren’t the best in the world. 

I mean, I imagine that there’s a device solely responsible for tracking in the GPS.” she continued. “And if we can single that out and destroy it, then we’re game. But, again, I don’t even know what that could look like.”

Grant huffed, “Then we’ll have to figure it out.” he muttered, motioning for Skye to follow him again. “We don’t have much time, but we need the GPS in order to find out where Coulson’s coordinates lead us to. Hopefully, the device is something obvious, but SHIELD does like to throw wrenches in things.”

“Hey, maybe our luck will be in our favor for once.”

Grant’s eyes darkened and he was glad that Skye couldn’t see his grim expression.  _ “When does my luck ever run in my favor?”  _ he thought.  _ “Of course things will somehow get worse than they are now. She just doesn’t realize that. Skye’s still far too naive to understand how things work now. I drug her into this. Whatever happens to her and that baby will be solely my fault. I should’ve turned her away that day. Then… Then this all would not be happening.” _

Skye stopped and sighed, watching Grant as he started to examine the abandoned truck,  _ “He hasn’t talked about what that soldier had said earlier. I don’t think that he realizes that I heard every last word.”  _ she thought.  _ “I bet he’s afraid. They did something to him that he can’t remember at all. Something’s wrong here. SHIELD’s hiding something. Why would they want to make an Inhuman stronger than they already are? They hate us, they have no reason to make one stronger.  _

_ I don’t like what’s happening here. Grant’s unstable. I know whatever SHIELD did to him caused that.”  _ She took a deep breath, watching as Grant found that the truck was unlocked and opened the door,  _ “Something’s wrong with him. And I’m afraid to know just what that is. SHIELD did something major to him and there’s a reason to why. Maybe Coulson can figure that out. I-” _

“Skye, the truck’s unlocked.” Grant said, pulling her out of her thoughts. “Get in. We’ll figure something out about the GPS.”

Skye blinked and nodded, “Oh, okay.” She made her way around the truck, opening the passenger side door and climbing in. 

“That’s the GPS system. The computer system for it is there, below the dash.” Grant began, pointing at a screen in the middle of the dashboard. “Hopefully what we’re looking for is in there.”

Skye’s eyes led her to a small black box just barely visible underneath the dash, “Yeah, probably. Can you yank it out?”

Grant grunted and reached for the box, pulling it out with one swift move and handing it to Skye, “Do you know computers like this?”

Skye rolled her eyes, “I know programming. Some parts, but this is different than a laptop.” she answered. “Some basic parts. But there has to be a transmitter of some sort in here that transmits the GPS location right back to SHIELD. Again, I don’t know what that would look like.”

“We’ll just have to guess. Or hope that it’s labeled.”

Skye raised an eyebrow, “Would it really be that easy?”

“Probably not.” Grant muttered underneath his breath. “Things are never that easy.”

“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got here.” Skye announced. “Keep an eye out for any agents. This might take some time.” She huffed and pried the top off of the box, eyes widening at the amount of components in the small computer. “This… This will probably take a while.”

Grant muttered a string of curses underneath his breath, clearly annoyed. He definitely didn’t want this taking a long time, especially with them being right outside a SHIELD base. Agents could attack at any moment. 

Skye examined the box closer, eyeing each and every component. “Okay, if I were a GPS transmitter, where would I be?” she asked herself. “I need you right here and right now.”

Grant started to impatiently tap his finger against the steering wheel. He hated waiting for anything, and their current situation was definitely not helping them at the moment. But, they needed the GPS in order to figure out the coordinates. He just had to trust that Skye could figure it out soon.

Minutes seemed to creep by before Skye shouted. 

“Ha! I think I found it!” Skye pointed at a small component, “It’s labeled ‘Trans. Seq. 3212’.” she stated. “That has to be it, I’ve seen something labeled like that before. That’s a story for another time, though.” She yanked out the part and handed it to Grant, “Hopefully, we’re good now. Can you believe that it was actually labeled.” 

Grant shattered the component in his hand, allowing a small flame to burn the metal away, “If it does happen to be the GPS transmitter. We’re running blind here.” he growled, reaching for the ignition, which luckily still had the key in, and started up the truck. “We’re just lucky that it seems like an agent abandoned the truck in order to fight.” He pointed at the GPS, “Input the coordinates so we’ll know where to go. Hang on.”

Skye grimaced as Grant gunned the truck, causing it to accelerate forward and crash through the perimeter fence. She sighed as she reached for the GPS, “What were they again?”

Grant told her the set of coordinates and returned his attention to driving, “Where does it put us?”

“Well, we’re in the middle of nowhere Nevada right now and the coordinates put us in somewhere in the middle of the Colorado wilderness. So, about a good 500 miles or so. If we drive, only stopping for gas or whatever, that’s a good 10 or so hour drive.”

Grant took a sharp breath, “SHIELD trucks come equipped with extra gas, good enough for 1000 miles, just in case.” he stated. “So, no stopping at all. Coulson really wanted us to put distance between this place, didn’t he?”

Skye looked over to him, “Will you be okay driving for that long?”

“I’ll have to be, you need to rest.”

“Grant, I’m not fragile. Even if I am pregnant.”

“I don’t want you getting in trouble if we happen to get pulled over and you’re the one driving.” Grant answered, keeping his eyes on the road. “I’ll be able to deal with it more if something happens.”

“Grant,”

“I’m not killing anyone outside of SHIELD.” Grant snapped, cutting her off. “People outside of SHIELD don’t know that we’re Inhuman, so they won’t treat us badly. I have no reason to kill them. As long as we keep our powers hidden, we should be fine. I don’t know what Coulson’s planning on doing with us considering we  _ are  _ SHIELD fugitives now.”

Skye’s shoulders slumped, “You don’t have to remind me.” she muttered. “I know.”

Grant frowned and looked over to her, reaching out and placing a hand on her leg, “Hey, we’ll be okay.” he stated. “I’ll make sure of it. No matter what.”

Skye looked away from him, staring out the window for a while before muttering to herself. 

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So with the next chapter we'll be getting back to Coulson. And we'll possibly find out some more about Grant. Maybe, maybe not. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	15. Where Do We Go From Here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye arrive at Coulson's coordinates.

(Several Hours Later)

Grant looked over to Skye, whom of which was fast asleep in the passenger’s seat. He sighed and shook his head, looking back to the road ahead,  _ “Not too much longer.”  _ he thought, casting a brief look to the GPS.  _ “About ten minutes. I’ll wake her up when we’re there. She needs the rest.  _

_ But, what are we getting ourselves into? I don’t know how Coulson plans on taking down an entire SHIELD regime. And…”  _ He shook his head again,  _ “And I don’t know what SHIELD did to me. They… They did something to me when I was in confinement last year. I just don’t remember it. _

_ I… I don't know to what I am anymore.”  _ He kept his eyes locked on the road.  _ “They did something to me. Maybe that’s why they want me dead so badly. They know just what I’m capable of. And I don’t like that. There’s something that they know about me that I don’t know. What am I?” _

Grant was pulled out of his thoughts as the GPS dinged, signalling that they were at Coulson’s location. He stopped the truck and shut off the ignition, turning to look at Skye. He reached out and gently shook her awake, “Skye, we’re here. We need to go find Coulson.”

Skye mumbled and moaned, her eyes slowly coming open. She looked over to Grant, “We’re there?” she muttered, sitting up.

He nodded, yeah, “I just don’t know where the hell Coulson could be, though.” he stated. “We’re… We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

Skye blinked and looked around, seeing nothing but trees all around them. “Grant, there’s nothing but trees.” she stated. “There’s no way that Coulson’s here.”

Grant shrugged, “I think there’s a clearing through those trees.” he said, opening the door and starting to get out of the truck. “Maybe he’s there.”

“I hope that you’re right.” Skye sighed and got out of the truck as well, following Grant as he started to head into the trees. “Because I don’t want to be stuck out in the freaking middle of nowhere with absolutely no supplies all.”

“Coulson always had things carefully planned out.” Grant mumbled underneath his breath. “I hope now’s the case, too. I don’t like this.” He still didn’t quite trust everything Coulson was saying since he was still SHIELD. Grant couldn’t trust anyone that called themself a SHIELD agent, even if Coulson was trying to take Ainsley down.

“Huh?”

“Nevermind.” 

Skye frowned as Grant pushed them through the trees, leading them out into a large clearing. “Grant, there’s no one here.” she stated matter-of-factly. “Where’s Coulson?”

Grant stopped and blinked, looking around them as his heart sank, “I… I don’t understand.” he said, his voice dull. “He said he would be here. He needs to be here. I… I don’t want to go anywhere else. SHIELD will be there.” He ran his hands through his hair, “There’s nothing here! I need him to be here! I’m not going back!”

Skye swallowed, knowing that what little trust Grant had was already crumbling just because he didn’t see Coulson right away. But why would Coulson lead them to a clearing so far away from the camp they had been at? A whoosh sounded from behind her and she turned, her back to Grant, to see the air in a large space not that far from them shimmering. She frowned, jumping back as a large plane suddenly appeared in front of them. 

“Uh, Grant?”

Grant turned around, eyes widening as he saw the plane, “What the hell?” he muttered, taking a step forward as a hangar door started to open. He swallowed, seeing a dog running towards him, a man standing at the edge of the door. 

“Max!” 

A smile pulled at Skye’s lips as she watched Grant jog towards the black shepherd. Grant dropped to his knees, hugging Max and burying his face in his soft scruff. It had been a long few days for the both of them and Max was one of the few things that Grant wanted. 

Skye walked up to the two of them and kneeled down, smiling more as Max licked her, “Hey, boy.” she cooed, petting him between the ears. “We missed you.”

“Good to see you two.”

Grant and Skye pulled their attention away from Max, looking up to see Coulson looking down at them. Grant stood up and swallowed, “So, you did keep your promise.” he stated. “G-Good.”

Coulson sighed and nodded, “Yes, I did. Sorry for not appearing like we were here, but we had to keep hidden just in case.” he explained. “Luckily, it’s just you two.” He turned, motioning for them to follow him, “No use standing out here, we need to get into the air as fast as we can. SHIELD’s already looking for you two. They don’t expect you being with me, though. So, it buys us plenty of time. I’ve got to get you two situated as well and introduce you to the others.”

“So what do we do now?” Skye asked as they walked back towards the plane. “Is there a plan?”

“We’ll get to that once we’re in the air. We’re a little ahead because Tartarus is gone.” Coulson replied. “It fell about 3 hours ago. I surprised that Grant didn’t do more damage than he did.”

Grant grunted, “I wanted Skye out of there. My only concern.”

Coulson nodded, “Of course.” he stated as they came into the cargo hold. He stopped and turned to look at them. “I’m gonna be honest with the two of you right here, right now. None of this is going to be easy. Tartarus was the easy part. We now have to figure out how to take out an entire corrupt regime. It’s not going to be easy. But, we have to dive head-first into it. We have to do this fast.”

Grant’s lips curled, “They’ll fall faster than you can blink.” he growled. “I want them dead. Nothing will stop me from getting what I want.” He turned and headed up the stairs, figuring that it lead to the rest of the plane. 

Skye swallowed, pulling Coulson aside, “Hey, can I talk to you alone after we’re settled?” she asked, lowering her voice. She watched as Grant kneeled on the catwalk above them, giving Max a belly rub. “Just me and you.”

Coulson looked at her with a frown, “Sure. About what?”

“I’m worried about Grant.” she whispered. “A guard back at the camp said something that worries me. I don’t want to say it here. But I think SHIELD did more to him than we think when he was imprisoned before.”

Coulson’s face fell, “What do you mean?” he asked. All he knew was that SHIELD had held him for experiments testing his regenerative healing ability. He knew that it was highly possible that SHIELD could’ve done something to him, but there was no telling to just what else they could’ve done to him. And that thought scared him. SHIELD used the Inhumans as guinea pigs. And there was no telling to what they would do to an Inhuman of Grant’s caliber. 

Skye shook her head, “I’m not going to talk about it here since Grant’s in the room.” she whispered. “I don’t want him to hear. Not yet.” 

“Fine. We’ll talk once you two are settled. It’s probably best that I try and get Grant to rest for a while. I know that he was probably the one to drive all the way here, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah. He wanted me to sleep.”

“He puts those he actually cares about above himself, especially you at this point. Because you’re also carrying his child. He doesn’t want anything to happen to the two of you, so he’ll gladly do anything for you.” Coulson explained, turning towards the stairs. “He’ll ignore his own needs. So he needs to rest now.”

Skye took a sharp breath and followed Coulson up the stairs, meeting Grant and Max up top. Her heart felt like lead in her chest as they went through the door. 

_ “I really hope that Coulson knows what he’s doing. Especially now that I know that something’s wrong with Grant.” _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a not so great chapter, but didn't know what to write. But the next one should be better since it's Grant and Skye meeting the others. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	16. My Heart is Holding On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye meet the team.

“Alright, I’ll introduce you to the team.” Coulson stated, stopping right as they got inside the plane’s galley. “They’re in the Holocom room, waiting my instruction. Grant, just don’t react if they look at you like they fear you. They only know what others have told them. So, there will be a bit of fear there. But don’t worry, they don’t mean it. It’s just residual. But, they know that you’re on our side. Don’t worry.”

Something flashed across Grant’s face as Coulson led them towards another room, “I was afraid that you were going to say that.” he muttered, nervously glancing at Max at his feet. “Don’t expect me to stay if someone ends up saying something against me. I’m risking a hell of a lot here with allying myself with SHIELD agents.”

Skye rolled her eyes, even though she knew that Grant couldn’t help his apprehension. She just wished that he would lower his guard just for a little while. She trusted Coulson and his team already, but she understood to why Grant wouldn’t. Even if Coulson  _ did  _ used to be Grant’s SO once upon a time. Grant had been through hell and back within SHIELD, it was only natural that he didn’t trust anyone who happened to wear their badge.

And then there was the matter of whatever the hell SHIELD had done to him. 

That thought made Skye shiver. She didn’t want to know to what Grant could be now. She suspected that his mental state was partially due to whatever experiments SHIELD had done on him. But, she couldn’t even begin to fathom the fact that they would want to make an Inhuman even stronger since they hated Inhumans. So, something was very wrong here. Very, very wrong. 

“Alright, here we are!” Coulson announced, leading them into a small, glass-walled room that held a giant tablet-looking table and a large screen on the wall. Three other people stood around it, all glancing at Grant and Skye awkwardly.

“This is some of the team. Two of them are at another base currently working on another part of the plan, which I’ll explain once you two are settled.” Coulson continued, motioning for the two of them to stand around the strange table. “And one’s currently in the cockpit preparing for take-off. You’ll meet her later. Alright, you three. Introduce yourselves.”

“Name’s Antoine Triplett.” The first agent, a tall and muscular African American man, stated with a bright, overwhelming smile and a wave. “I’m Coulson’s resident specialist. You know, the muscle for the team. Well, the second muscle if you consider May as still being a specialist.”

Grant raised an eyebrow and looked at Coulson with a frown, “May?” he asked. “As in  _ Melinda May _ ? How the hell did you get her on board with something like this?”

Coulson shrugged, “Been working closely with her lately and she’s one of the few SHIELD agents that I still trust.” he answered. “And she’s more than glad to help kick Ainsley’s ass. Even if she’s just the pilot for this mission. Not much of a fighter.”

Skye blinked, not really sure of what they were talking about. But, it did seem like this May woman was pretty strong and she was glad that she was on their side. Hopefully they would meet her soon enough.

Grant nodded, “She always followed you.” he stated, kind of relieved that they had someone like May on their side. “Good that she stayed.” He turned his gaze to the remaining pair, two who he assumed to be kids because they looked so young. “And you are.”

“Leo Fitz.” the girl stated, pointing at the man next to her. Grant noted that she was British.

“Jemma Simmons.” the man answered, pointing at the woman. Clearly Scottish. “I’m engineering and she’s biochem.”

“Seriously? You brought two young scientists on board?” Grant asked in disbelief, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “They clearly look as though they haven’t even seen a single firefight.” He swallowed, looking at the pair, “Have you seen a firefight. At all?”

The man, Fitz, nervously shook his head, “Ah… Ah, no.” he stammered. “W-We’re just here because Coulson needed a well rounded team.”

“Fitz is right, Grant.” Coulson began. “I needed a diverse team. Trip’s a fighter. Fitz is an engineer, he can build us things and all that. Simmons is pretty much a doctor. Well, not technically, but close enough. Still helps though.”

Simmons smiled, “I can do a fair amount of first aid, but that’s not what I was trained for, though.” she answered. “But, then again, I’m one of the few people that Coulson trusts. It’s hard to come by someone that doesn’t hate the Inhumans. Unfortunately.”

“So, you don’t hate us?” Grant questioned, giving the Brit a hard glare. “That’s a first.”

“While I admit that your biology is fascinating and it’s amazing to how each and every one of you greatly varies, that’s the way you were born.” Simmons answered lightly. “SHIELD fears you because you’re stronger than them. That you’re someone who can easily beat them down if you wanted to. Yes, there are some bad Inhumans that need to be dealt with, but you all aren’t like that.”

Grant looked away, his eyes on Max, who of which laid at his feet, “I wish everyone believed that. But they don’t.” he stated quietly. “Everyone sees me as a monster. For no good reason.”

“To be fair, Grant, you  _ have  _ been killing SHIELD agents left and right.” Skye stated, staring at him. “Maybe  _ that’s  _ why they see you that way.”

Fire flashed in Grant’s eyes, “Well, if I didn’t do that, then we would be dead, Skye. Our kid included.” he growled. “I do what I have to do in order for us to survive. I’m not letting them get the upper hand. Not again.” He briskly stormed out of the room, disappearing from view.

Trip raised an eyebrow, “Is… Is he always like this?”

“Most of the time, unfortunately.”

“Well, I’ll go talk to him.” Coulson announced. He looked at Simmons, “Simmons, I imagine that you can help Skye out, can’t you?”

Simmons blinked and nodded, “Oh, of course!” she exclaimed as Coulson quickly headed out of the room in order to find Grant. She came up to Skye, “I imagine that you would like to see your little one, right?”

Skye’s face fell, “I thought that you weren’t a medical doctor.” she stated, bringing her hand to her stomach. 

“Well, yeah, but I know how to read. And I can work an ultrasound.” Simmons retorted, glaring at Fitz as he rolled his eyes. “Ever since Coulson told us about you and that you were pregnant, I’ve been reading up on all kinds of baby stuff. So, I’ll work until we can actually find you a doctor that  _ isn’t  _ anti-Inhuman.”

“W-Wait, isn’t it a little early to be seeing a baby on an ultrasound?” Skye asked. “I’m like only a little over 3 weeks along.”

Simmons shrugged, motioning for her to follow her, “I think the baby can sometimes be seen this early, but I’m not promising anything. I just want to do a few tests to ensure that everything’s okay. And don’t worry, the results stay with us. So, the rest of SHIELD doesn’t have a single bloody clue.”

“Can Grant come?”

“Well, he’s the father, isn’t he? I’d imagine that you would want him there.” Simmons stated. “But, I don’t know where he went to, so you might want to go find him. Oh, and we have you two a room set up in the storage hold. I know that sounds  _ grand _ , but it’s so SHIELD won’t easily find you if another agent happens to board the plane. There’s a spare room set up back there with two big cots. And Coulson had us grab whatever we could from that cabin, so your clothes and other supplies are there.” She paused and sighed, “I know that it’s not the most glorious of situations, especially with you being pregnant, but hopefully this won’t be for long. 

We’re currently working on building a force that’s for the takedown of Ainsley.” she continued. “If we can get if big enough, then he’ll fall sooner or later. Then all of this can be over with.”

Skye took a sharp breath, continuing to hold a hand against her belly, “I hope that you’re right. I barely even know what’s going on anymore.” she stated, following Simmons and Fitz back down into the cargo bay where the lab was. 

“To be honest, I don’t even know if I can do this.”

“Do what, if I may ask?” Fitz questioned. 

“All of this. The baby. Fighting SHIELD. Grant. I feel like it’s all too much.

I’m getting to the point where I can barely even keep up anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I am so sorry for the wait on this, but school hindering me with writing for a while. But, hopefully, I'll be able to get back into the groove of things since I have Thanksgiving break coming up. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	17. The Eye of the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Grant see their baby for the first time.

(Just a Little Bit Later)

As Simmons moved around the small lab, Skye watched as Grant looked at the ground with a semi-vacant stare. She really wished that he would show a little more excitement than he was, considering they were about to possibly see their unborn child. But, she knew that far too much was riding on his shoulders right now with what that agent had told him. He couldn’t even manage to be excited about seeing his unborn child for the first time. 

“Alrighty, hopefully I can do this right!” Simmons explained, wheeling up a small ultrasound machine to the lab table, that had been temporarily turned into an exam table. “Now, you wouldn’t believe the trouble I went through to get this stuff without looking suspicious. I told them that I needed it in case I ran across an unknown organic specimen! I can’t believe how easy the higher-ups can be fooled sometimes.”

Skye swallowed nervously, “Y-Yeah.” she stammered, trying to laugh. She was too fixated on Grant right now, who still hadn’t taken his eyes off the floor below. Grant just sat there motionlessly with Max at his feet. She hated to know just what was going through his mind right now. He already wasn’t doing too well since being imprisoned again and finding out that he had an unborn child. Skye knew that him finding out that SHIELD had done something to him just made things a whole lot worse.

“Well, let’s get this started!” Simmons piped, approaching Skye. “Now, you’ll need to lift your shirt up. And this will be quite cold, unfortunately.”

“Grant.” Skye hissed, looking towards him again. “Grant!”

Grant looked up after a few, long seconds and blinked at her, “Huh?”

“Simmons is about to start the ultrasound, don’t you want to see if something does pop up?”

He swallowed, a fearful look in his eyes, “Uh, I-I guess.” he stammered, rising to his feet and coming over to Skye’s side, Max following close behind. “Yeah.” As he stood next to her, she gently took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. 

“Don’t worry, Grant. I’ll be okay. It’s just a baby.” she tried to joke, hoping that he would at least crack a little bit of a smile. “It’s not like an alien is gonna come popping out of me.”

“Technically, it  _ is  _ an alien.” he replied in a monotone voice. “It’s not exactly human.”

Skye rolled her eyes, “Grant, I was just making a joke.” she retorted. “It’s not the movie Alien or anything.”

“You… You never know.”

Skye sighed, knowing that Grant was fearing the worst because of whatever SHIELD had done to him. Yes, she was fearful as well, but she was trying to look on the bright side of things. Considering she was the one carrying the baby and all. She didn’t want to fear what their baby possibly could be. 

She gave his hand another light squeeze, “Our baby will be okay, Grant.” she said softly. “We may not know for a while, but they’ll be okay. I promise.”

Grant just looked away and remained silent.

With another deep sigh, Skye looked towards Simmons, “You can go ahead.”

Simmons nodded and gave her a light smile, “Hold on, this will be cold.” she said, beginning to squirt the gel onto Skye’s abdomen. She laughed as Skye made a face, “I told you.” 

“So can you see this baby or not?”

“Well, I’m not an expert, but I pretty much know what to look for.” Simmons began, placing the wand on Skye’s lower abdomen and slowly began to move it around, looking at this screen. “It’s amazing what you can learn from a few books in a matter of a few days. But again, I’m not an expert. This will hold you off long enough until we can find a doctor that  _ won’t  _ want to kill or turn you in once he runs your blood. And speaking of blood, I’ll draw a few small samples later in order to run a few tests. Still can’t tell much now, but I just want to see how things are coming along.”

Skye swallowed, “Great. Now, is there a baby or not?”

Simmons scoffed and looked back to the screen, still slowly moving the wand around, “Now don’t be impatient. It still may be way too early to see anything. I think it depends on how your uterus is. But it’s technically not the baby. It’s the gestational sac. That’s the most that will be present at this point. We’ll have to do another ultrasound in a few weeks in order to really see anything. I…” Simmons trailed off and stared at the screen. 

“Wait?” Skye feared Simmons’ silence. “Is there something wrong?”

“No, not at all!” Simmons exclaimed. “I believe that I may have found it.” She kept the wand steady and pointed at the screen with her free hand towards a small dot on the screen that wasn’t even the size of the tip of Skye’s pinky. “I told you it wouldn’t be much. We need to at least wait 3 or 4 more weeks to see the embryo. And I’m really hoping that all this coup stuff will be over by then and you two will really be able to cherish what’s going on.” Simmons pressed a button on the machine and a set of photos printed out. She placed the wand aside and quickly wiped Skye’s belly off, handing her the photos as she sat up. 

“So, this is our baby?” Skye asked, staring at all at the photo.

Simmons nodded, giving her a smile, “Well, what’s there of it. You’re only 3 weeks along. I’m surprised that anything was able to be seen. According to the books, that’s kind of uncommon. Perhaps you’re gonna have a huge baby.”

“Considering how big Grant is, I wouldn’t be surprised.” Skye joked. She turned around and handed the second photo to Grant. She watched as he took the photo from her and began to stare at it, something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite begin to decipher.

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone for just a bit.” Simmons spoke up, wheeling the machine away. “I’ll give you some time to talk before I come back for the blood tests.” She quickly left the room, leaving the two to themselves.”

“So, what do you think, Grant?” Skye asked, looking at Grant as he went to sit back down with Max, the photo still in his hand. “As small as it may be, it’s our baby.”

Grant kept staring at the ultrasound printout, “Yeah.” he said in a small voice, not sure of what to make of it. A part of him hoped that maybe SHIELD had been lying about Skye being pregnant, even if he still wanted the child. It was just the matter of their current situation that made him worry about things. He kept looking at the small dot. 

“What do you hope the baby is?”

“Huh?”

“You know, boy or girl? I mean, I prefer a girl, but I guess that it really doesn’t matter as long as they’re happy and healthy. And I actually live long enough to give birth.”

Grant’s throat went dry, “A boy, I guess. I don’t know.” he mumbled. Holding the photo made it seem all too real now. “A son wouldn’t hurt.”

“Oh, God. I’m gonna be  _ huge  _ if it’s a boy, Grant. I bet you were a big baby, weren’t you?” Skye laughed, looking towards him with a smile. Her smile grew more as she saw him actually crack a small smile. 

“My Gramzy used to say that I was huge when I was born. I think I was 8 or 9 pounds. Maybe more.”

Skye’s eyes widened, “Grant, you’re gonna turn me into a fucking whale!” she joked. “They’re gonna have to cut this baby out of me!”

Grant’s smile grew just a bit more and he sighed, “Skye,” he began slowly. “I’m sorry that I yelled at you yesterday.”

Skye frowned, “About what?” She didn’t know what he was talking about. 

“When I yelled at you when I thought you wanted to get rid of the baby.” he answered, gripping the photo in his hands. “I know that you’re worried just like I am, but it’s clear that you want to keep it. I-”

“Grant, stop apologizing.” Skye said sternly, cutting him off. “We’re both going through a lot right now. We’re both scared of what’s going to happen.” She swallowed and nodded, “I don’t know how long this’ll take, but I think we’ll get through it. Hopefully all of this will end before the baby gets here. I don’t want them being born in a world where SHIELD is still hunting Inhumans down. SHIELD already hates the baby and they’re not even a fetus yet.”

Grant took a sharp breath and stood up suddenly, causing Max to jump up and bark in alarm, “I’ll make sure that SHIELD won’t be standing when the baby comes.” he growled. “I’ll make sure of it myself. I won’t let them rip the baby or you away from me.” He quickly stormed out of the lab, still clutching the photo in his hand.

A frown returned to Skye’s face as she looked back down to the photo in her hand, placing her other hand on her belly, “I don’t know what’s going on with your daddy.” she whispered. “But I know that something’s wrong with him and it’s doing something to him. I just hope that it doesn’t affect you.

I want you to be perfect in every way possible.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so hopefully I'll get back into some action soon. Maybe in a couple of chapters. Next chapter will be Skye talking to Coulson about Grant. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	18. Between Good and Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Coulson finally talk.

(The Next Day)

“Grant’s asleep in the room.” Skye announced, slowly closing the door to Coulson’s office behind her and stepping into the room. “Max is with him, that should be enough.”

“Do you think he’ll sleep long enough for us to talk in private?” Coulson asked as Skye came towards his desk, motioning for her to sit down. “We clearly have a lot to talk about and I don’t want him walking in on any of it. Not until we can figure out just what the hell is going on.”

Skye nodded, “I think the lack of sleep has caught up to him. He’ll probably be out for at least the next couple of hours.” she answered. “More than plenty time to try and figure out what’s going on.”

Coulson took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, keeping his eyes on the woman, “So, go ahead. Tell me what you heard that agent say.” he began. “As close as you can remember it.”

“Well, I don’t remember it clearly, a lot has happened since the other day, but I remember the basics of what the agent said. Something about ‘what did those experiments do to you?’, ‘what did they turn you into?’. And…” She swallowed, giving a slight pause, “‘I don’t know what they were trying to do by making you more powerful.’. That’s all that was said before Grant snapped the guy’s neck. It was clear that Grant was bothered by it all. He… He just hasn’t said anything about it to me. I don’t even think he realizes that I heard every last bit of what that agent said to him.”

“Well, shit.” Coulson breathed, leaning forward in his chair and steepling his fingers together. “I know for a fact that SHIELD experiments on Inhumans. But, I thought that it was mainly to test their abilities. To see just how much abuse a non-human can take. But this? This is a whole other fucking level. Why would they want to make him even  _ more  _ powerful than he already is?”

Skye shook her head, “I thought SHIELD feared and loathed the Inhumans, why try to make one more powerful? Especially of Grant’s caliber.” she stated. “It doesn’t make any damn sense. They’ve been trying to kill the Inhumans for a couple of years now. Why make one more powerful?”

“I don’t know. But now it makes even more sense to why they want him dead.” Coulson ran a hand through his hair. “He’s their runaway experiment. Their little mistake that they want gone and erased. They thought that they could do something with him, but they only made a bigger monster in the end, though. A much bigger one. 

I just want to know what the hell they did to him. What did they give him?” he continued, his question lingering in the air for just a bit. “But… But now it makes sense to why Grant’s so different between before his imprisonment and now. To why he became so violent and scornful. The trauma’s one thing, but I don’t think it could’ve done all of that. Whatever experimentation they did on him had to warp his brain. But it warped it against them, perhaps.”

Skye looked down to the floor, “Considering Grant’s homicidal tendencies, do you think that’s  _ what  _ they wanted from him?” she asked, looking back up towards the agent. “But, like you said, it was warped against them.”

Realization dawned in Coulson’s eyes, “A weapon. They were trying to create a weapon.” he stated. “Their very own bioweapon with powerful abilities. Instead of giving a human powers, why not make something with powers stronger than they already are? It makes sense, but why would they do so? What would they want out of it?”

“A super-powered army of their own?” Skye suggested with a slight shrug. “If they did whatever they did to Grant on other Inhumans and it worked, they would have their ‘weapons’. Perhaps there was some kind of mental manipulation done, hince why Grant’s mental state is pretty much non existent. They broke him and got a killer in return.”

Coulson nodded, “It all makes sense. But if that’s what they want, then why are handfuls of Inhumans getting killed everyday?” he questioned. “If you’re trying to create an army, why kill off most of your selection.”

“Survival of the fittest. They only want the ones that they  _ know  _ that they can control. The ones that are far too dangerous probably don’t fit that profile, so they either get locked away or killed on the spot.”

“And Grant was once a loyal agent, so perhaps they thought that they could prey on that loyalty and could manipulate that to their favor.” Coulson sighed, placing his hands on his desk. “All of it makes sense, but it’s just speculation at this point. We still need to find out the truth.

I know that you’re a hacker, but I don’t think it would be wise at this point to let you hack into top secret SHIELD records.” he continued. “There are parts of Grant’s file that not even I as his SO have access to. So, that’s where the experimentation files have to be. But it’s risky to let you hack into files of that high a level. I need you and Grant to stay completely hidden for the time being until we can get the rest of this operation up and running.”

“But, we need to figure out what happened to Grant in case it gets worse.” Skye protested. Damn right she was worried about Grant. His mental state was all over the place and she didn’t want it getting worse. He would either end up hurting himself or someone else. And she wanted him here when the baby was born. They needed to figure out just what had been done to him.

Coulson nodded, “And we’ll do that in due time.” he answered. “I assure you that. But, as of right now, the Operation is more important than anything else. If this doesn’t succeed, you two get killed. My entire team gets imprisoned or worse. And more and more Inhumans will keep being killed. This has to work right. I can get someone else to look into Grant’s medical files. But that’s something that can be put off for right now.”

“But what if he starts getting worse?!”

“Then, we’ll deal with it. But, he seems to be somewhat stable right now. At the first sign of any changes, I’ll make it my number one priority to find his medical files and have them delivered to Simmons. Grant will understand. I am sure that he’ll put the Operation before himself.”

Skye swallowed and looked away, gently placing a hand on her belly. She really wanted Grant to be okay and to survive for her and the baby. But what was the use of that if SHIELD wasn’t toppled and they both ended up dead? Perhaps sacrifices had to be made here. She just hoped that Grant would be okay for the time being.

“So, where are we with things?”

Coulson took a breath, “We are currently working on building a resistance.” he answered. “We are finding that a lot of agents aren’t quite loyal to Ainsley’s ass, but just could never find a way out. So, they’re more than glad to help. And we’re getting quite a bit of Inhumans on our side as well. We’re also working on establishing a base with the help of a few Inhumans. 

The Inhumans tend to live in secret, either in seclusion by themselves or in big groups for security.” he continued. “So, they have plenty of secret buildings in order to survive and hide from SHIELD. And I have connections. After that, we’ll start targeting small SHIELD bases to take over. The less Ainsley has under his belt, the better. We’re hoping to have our base established in the coming week. We’ll have to use an underground market to ferry supplies to it since this is technically all ‘illegal’.  Even if it  _ is  _ the right thing.”

“You don’t think that there will be some kind of snag?”

Coulson nodded, “There already have been inklings of some rogue Inhumans taking matters into their own hands since Tartarus has been destroyed. Like it’s given them some kind of confidence or something. But, that doesn’t need to happen at all.” he explained. Rogue attacks will give SHIELD even more ammunition against the Inhumans, especially if the attacks are public. 

There are many Inhumans who share Grant’s anti-human mentality. Where Grant probably has the restraint to not attack innocent humans, they don’t.” he continued with a sigh. “I wouldn’t put it past them to kill a lot of people. Not that different than a terrorist. They just have different weapons. So, we have to keep our eyes out for them as well. We can’t let their antics ruin the Operation.”

“So, what is my job in all of this?” Skye asked, looking straight at him.

“For right now, until we get settled in a base, your job is to keep low and stay out of sight. Same goes for Grant. I can’t afford losing the either of you now. And I don’t want you getting in a fight because of that baby. I know that you can pack a punch, but I also know that you don’t want that baby getting hurt. So, it’s best that you keep on the downlow until something can be done. Like I said, the base will more than likely be established within the next week. Unless something ends up changing our plans.”

Skye nodded slowly, “Okay, but as long as we eventually figure out just what the hell happened to Grant.” she stated. “I want him to be around for our baby. I don’t want him getting worse than he already is, Coulson. Something’s very wrong with him and what if SHIELD is doing the very same thing to other Inhumans?” she pressured. “We can’t let this keep happening. At all.”

“That’s another thing we have to solve, Skye. The world’s falling apart and the US doesn’t realize that it’s being controlled by a tyrannical regime. One I hope to topple.

Everything will come in due time.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I threw some hints in there to what is to come. Which will probably come pretty soon since I'm looking to speed things up a bit. I need to get back into the action some time. (Any guesses to what is to come?) Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	19. Abdicate, Abdicate Another Throne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye learn some frightening news.

(Three Days Later)

Grant watched Skye as she tossed and turned on the cot adjacent to him. He frowned, “Skye, what’s wrong?” he asked softly, sitting up. “What’s bothering you?”

“I… I just can’t sleep, Grant.” Skye answered, giving up in her quest for sleep and sitting up to look at him. “I’m just worried.”

“About what?”

“About everything.”

Grant took a sharp breath, “Your mind is racing again, huh?” he briefly closed his eyes and looked up towards the ceiling of the small compartment. “You and me both. It’s like what? 1 AM? You’re usually fast asleep by now, Skye.” A small smile pulled at the corners of his lips, “This is rare for you.”

Skye rolled her eyes, “I appreciate you of all people trying to tell a joke, Grant, but it’s not helping right now.” she stated. “I’m completely worried about  _ everything _ . Hell, I don’t even think Coulson truly knows what he’s doing. I think he’s just going to thing to thing, hoping that somehow everything will turn out alright in the end.” She placed a hand to her stomach, “And, right now, I really need hope instead of uncertainty.”

“Honestly, I don’t think that there  _ can  _ be a lot of hope in this, Skye. I know that Coulson is trying his hardest, but we’re working with a hell of a lot of unknowns here.” Grant began to explain. “He doesn’t know how we’ll get support. He doesn’t know if it’ll be enough. I don’t like that either, but I guess it doesn’t hurt to try. We’ve already taken Tartarus down, hopefully that was a good starting point. If it’s not enough, I’ll take matters into my own hands.”

“No, you won’t.” Skye stated firmly with a shake of her head. “I am not letting you do something so damn stupid and reckless. I know that you’re probably the one person who wants to see SHIELD burn the most, but you can’t do that to yourself. You’ll just be throwing your life away. I think you’ve got to learn how to rely on others here, Grant. Stop being a loner for once and let others take charge.”

Grant grimaced and quickly looked away from her, “I don’t like having to rely on others for things, Skye. I don’t like letting others take charge. The last time I followed orders, I helped start a damned genocide.” he stated gruffly. “I want to make my own decisions here.”

“And I think that your own decisions will get you killed.” Skye cut in with a nasty glare. “You kill others without thinking. You’ll end up taking on someone you can’t fight and that’ll be the end of you. You-”

“Who says that I can get killed?” Grant almost growled, turning to glare at her. “I’m stronger than everyone else in SHIELD. I-”

“And more arrogant as well. Just because you think you’re invincible doesn’t mean you are.” Skye snapped. “Thinking just like that will get you killed, Grant. And that’s not what we need.”

Grant scowled and turned away once more, deciding to remain silent so he wouldn’t further upset her.  _ “Doesn’t she get that I want to die most of the time?”  _ he thought to himself.  _ “I know that there’s a baby involved now, but I don’t think it’ll survive long enough for it to be born. SHIELD won’t allow it to survive. It’s what? December? I don’t think we’ll live long enough to see the new year. SHIELD won’t allow any of us to survive. They’ll have us all executed for treason. _

_ SHIELD has their claws deep into the American government. Coulson thinks it’s as simple as killing Ainsley. As much as I want to see that bastard dead, I don’t think it’s going to work. Someone else with his very same ideals will sprout up to take his place. It’ll never end.” _

“Grant,” Skye began softly, breaking Grant out of his thoughts. “I just don’t want to lose you. I’m sorry if I’m tough about it, I just don’t want you dying.on me and the baby, okay?”

Grant slowly looked back towards her, “Skye, it’s just that I-”

“Good, you two are awake.”

Grant and Skye looked up to see a panicked looking Coulson standing in the doorway of the compartment. Both of their hearts dropped, knowing that something had happened. Something bad.

Skye rose to her feet, “Coulson, what’s wrong?” she asked. “What happened?”

“Exactly what I thought would happen.” he answered. “The downfall of Tartarus gave some Inhumans a reason to retaliate, giving them false hope.”

“Huh?” Grant rose to his feet as well, a big frown on his face. “What the hell are you talking about, Coulson?” he asked. “What happened?”

Coulson quickly turned around and motioned for them to follow him, which they did. “Everyone else is already in the holocom room.” he began. “But, I’ll explain a little bit on the way there. A group of Inhumans attacked a small town in Georgia. It’s currently in flames and the military currently doesn’t know how many people are dead. I’m assuming that it’s an anti-human group. And the downfall of Tartarus gave them courage to retaliate against what they hate.”

“Then why attack a small southern town filled with innocent people?” Grant asked as they came into the galley. “Hell, there were probably Inhumans living in that town. They probably ended up killing their own people.”

“They probably attacked it to make a statement.” Coulson answered. “SHIELD’s there now. Actually, two of my agents are there now, feeding information back to me. We’re staying in the air, far away from it.” He stopped and turned around to face them, “You don’t realize just how bad this is, right? This is the biggest Inhuman attack since they started appearing. An attack of this scale gives SHIELD more the reason to keep what they’re doing and will probably ramp it up. They will more than likely gain public support for at least the capture campaign. It’s practically a terrorist attack. These Inhumans wanted humans to fear them, they didn’t want to work on creating peace.”

Skye swallowed, “Then, what do we do now?” she asked, looking towards Grant. She knew that he hated humans, but would never do such a thing. He only reserved his violence for SHIELD agents, not innocent people. Grant was crazy, but not that crazy.

Coulson took a sharp breath, “To be honest, I don’t know.” he answered. “At the least we need to hurry up on finding and establishing a base so I can get you two hidden. It’s now dangerous to keep you hidden on this plane.” He started back towards the holocom room, “We’ve got to hide you two better.”

The three came to a stop around the holotable, Grant frowning as he noticed that everyone else was looking at him, a funny look in their eyes. 

“What?”

“Hunter just updated us.” May announced, looking at Coulson. “Some of the Inhuman assailants  _ were  _ in Tartarus as it fell. Escapees. The ones that probably should’ve stayed there. But they said something about the ‘fire-wrapped devil’ that set them free. That they were doing this for him.”

Grant’s stomach fell, “Fire-wrapped devil? I… I didn’t set anyone free other than Skye.” he answered, knowing just what everyone else was thinking. “I don’t remember such a thing. I didn’t even go berserk or anything of the like.”

“Even if you didn’t, they obviously saw you as they were escaping. Probably thought you were the reason.” May continued, warely eying Grant. “But, sounds like they see you as some kind of Inhuman savior or something. But they’re now doing inhumane acts in your name. They know who you are, Ward. And that doesn’t bode well. 

We have to speed things up. Now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was looking up up the angst just a bit. I guess that works. But, it'll still all work out in the end, though. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	20. 10 Seconds from Panic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant starts to question himself.

(The Next Day)

Grant sat with his fingers steepled, quietly watching the small TV that had been placed in the galley so that everyone could keep up with what was going on on the outside when it wasn’t coming through SHIELD. His brow furrowed as the news anchor continued to talk about the Inhuman attack in Georgia that had occured the morning before. Absolute devastation, they said. Officials had already counted about 35 or so people dead and many, many more injured to some extent. Grant knew that it would get a lot worse than it was now. This attack was just the beginning of things to come.

_ “Officials aren’t sure to what provoked the attack, but they are calling this a case of domestic terrorism.”  _ the reporter announced.  _ “Many are dead, the numbers estimated to be about 35 and are feared to climb much higher. These Inhumans came here to kill. SHIELD officials say that this may be the beginning of things to come and that citizens should be wary in the coming days. If you see anything suspicious, you are urged to report it to local authorities so SHIELD agents can investigate and deal with the threat properly. There are already calls for increased legislation on Inhuman monitoring….” _

Grant grimaced and tuned the rest of the report out,  _ “It’s exactly what we feared.”  _ he thought.  _ “This is the end. SHIELD’s been doing their shit in secret, but they’ll soon have public support with their extermination campaign if these attacks keep up. SHIELD may have their fingers deep into the government, but they don’t have the support of the entire US government. This is the catalyst. People begin to fear Inhumans so much, that they’ll be willing to do anything to protect themselves. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if people began to turn on one another. Senseless killings just because one person fears that another is Inhuman. Fear on such a scale is destined to tear the country, no, the world apart. If SHIELD’s shit isn’t brought to an end soon, we’ll have a major war on our hands.” _

He took a long sigh and leaned back in the couch, placing his hand on Max and running it through the dog’s thick, black fur. He wasn’t sure of what to do. He knew that things were about to get a hell of a lot worse. 

_ “Witnesses claim that some of the Inhuman attackers were yelling about a ‘fire-wrapped devil’.”  _ the reporter continued, pulling Grant’s attention back to the TV.  _ “One witness that survived with only a broken arm says that those Inhumans were speaking of another that saved them, that they were seeking him out to give him thanks and that they were doing this for him. What kind of monster would inspire such a senseless massacre. They-” _

The TV cut off abruptly as Grant threw the remote at it, shattering the screen. His eyes flared red as he suddenly stood to his feet, the air shimmering around his as his anger started to grow.

“Hey, what the hell was that?” Skye called, rounding the corner along with Trip, who had been helping her with some basic combat training. Well, just basic considering that she was pregnant. But just enough for her to fight someone off if needed. Grant was helping her to not internalize her powers.

She stopped and frowned, seeing the shattered TV and the remote lodged in the broken glass. She sighed, looking at the fuming Grant, “And you broke our damn TV.” she deadpanned. “Grant, what the hell? Did you get mad at CNN or something?” She approached him slowly, making sure that he wouldn’t slowly explode at him. “What’s wrong?”

“It was the coverage of the Incident, wasn’t it?” Trip asked, kneeling down as Max trotted over towards him. “That shit’s been on constantly. And it’s the same thing over and over.”

“They called me a monster.” Grant muttered, his voice strained. “I- I had nothing to do with this.”

Skye’s face fell, realizing just what he was talking about, “They’re talking about the fire-wrapped devil, aren’t they?” she questioned, placing a gentle hand on his arm. “Look, whatever the news said, don’t listen to it. They don’t know you.” She frowned, figuring that it wasn’t the best choice of words. If people really  _ did  _ know who Grant was, he would be known as an absolute abomination. 

Grant ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to try and steady himself, “They… They were talking about how some of those Inhumans were trying to seek out ‘that devil’ to thank him. That they were doing this for him. The reporter asked just what kind of monster could inspire such an act like that.” He grimaced again and shook his head, “All I wanted was to take SHIELD down, to put them in their place. Not this. Innocent people are getting killed and now the world thinks it’s all because of me. I may hate humanity, but there’s a line that has to be drawn somewhere. I don’t kill innocent people. I… I would never do such a thing.

I’ve only killed SHIELD agents because they were  _ attacking me _ .” he continued. “I wouldn’t kill a normal citizen, even if they expressed that they hated me. I would only retaliate unless they attacked me first. I only kill SHIELD agents because they usually either point a gun in my face or actually fire a bullet at me. But this? This? I-I would never do such a thing. Sooner or later my name is going to be attached to this attack and whatever attacks come after. I just want to be left alone.” He sat back down on the couch and buried his head in his hands. “SHIELD ruined my fucking life. None of this would be happening if it weren’t for them.”

Skye swallowed, giving Trip an uneasy glance before she looked back towards Grant, sensing that his mood was about the violently change. Recently, she had been starting to be able to since Grant’s mood swings with her abilities. It was always this weird, erratic vibration that signaled that Grant was about to snap. She knew that she had to be careful here with what she chose to say. 

“Grant, we’ll figure something out.” she began slowly, coming to sit beside him on the couch. “Coulson said earlier that we have a temporary base in place and that’s where we’re headed now. We’re speeding things up due to yesterday’s attack. He wants us to be settled and hidden before another attack can happen. And if SHIELD decided to ramp up their work. We’ll plan our next step once we’re settled.”

“And what happens if SHIELD catches up to us?” Grant asked, his head still in his hands. “You know that none of us will be spared. They’ll kill me on the spot and take you and the baby away for testing.” He looked back up at her, Skye shivering as she saw the demonic light shining in his eyes, “I won’t let that happen, Skye. I won’t let them rip you away from me again. I won’t let them rip any of you away.”

Skye swallowed, wondering to just how far Grant would go in order to keep everyone safe. Despite it only having been a few days, he had already began to show signs of trust towards the team. It was rare for him to trust a human, which Skye knew was understandable considering everything that he had been through. But, she also feared the extent of his power since it was still unknown to just what SHIELD had done to him. Just how far could he go? Just what could he turn into if provoked?

“Grant…” Skye took a sharp breath and placed a hand on his thigh. “Look, let’s just get to the base first and get settled. I’m sure that you’ll be okay once we’re around other Inhumans. Ones that we can actually trust to help us. We’ll be there in the morning. Just go get some rest. Take a shower, eat something. I haven’t seen you do any of those things since a couple of days ago. I know that it’s stressful right now, but I don’t want you to neglect yourself.” She stood up and walked back over to Trip, “I’ve gotta go finish what me and Trip were doing and then I’ll be back, okay?”

Trip smiled, “Don’t worry, man. Maybe about 30 minutes and she’ll be done.” he stated. “Don’t want to push her too hard.”

Grant didn’t even notice as they left the room, leaving just him and Max, whom of which jumped back up onto the couch.  _ “It’ll get a lot worse. SHIELD will definitely ramp things up soon.”  _ he thought.  _ “And if they do, I won’t hold back. I won’t let those bastards live. And there’s still the fact of whatever the hell that they did to me. Something’s wrong with me, I can feel it.  _

_ I don’t know what they did, but it wasn’t good. How long until I explode? Until whatever they did catches up to me?”  _ He looked down to his shaking hands. Just  _ why  _ had the Inhuman attackers call him the ‘fire-wrapped devil’? Had he done something that he didn’t realize? Had something happen to him that he didn’t remember?   _ “What’s wrong with me? _

_ What the hell am I?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm starting to really move things along here now. And things will get a lot darker soon, I promise that. And I do have finals this week, so I may not update again until next weekend. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	21. Break this Hate, This Human Disease

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye arrive at the Inhuman base.

(Two Days Later)

Skye casted an uneasy glance towards Grant as the Bus landed on the somewhat abandoned airstrip, the plane shaking due to the unevenness of the pavement. They had to delay their arrival to the Inhuman-led base due to some problems on Coulson’s end with some higher-ups wanting him to do something and he couldn’t risk the base by going straight to it. 

But, Coulson still wanted to get both Grant and Skye hidden at the base before SHIELD caught onto his plans. He couldn’t risk having either of them fall into SHIELD’s hands. He now feared what would happen to the baby knowing that SHIELD had done something to Grant. What if they really didn’t want to kill the baby, but they really wanted to do to them what they had done to Grant? Either thought really scared him and he didn’t want either to happen. So, he hoped that hiding Grant at Skye at the Inhuman base would work long enough.

Coulson came into the galley, pulling Grant and Skye’s attention towards him, “We’re here.” he stated. “Best that we get you settled here now before SHIELD ends up calling me for anything else. I still have my men monitoring the Georgia situation. Nothing else has happened, so hopefully that’s good.” He sighed, “I just don’t want anything worse happening right now. It’s already hard enough with planning just how to take Ainsley down. These extremist attacks aren’t helping.”

“And they’re not going to stop.” Grant stated coldly as he stood to his feet to face Coulson. “This attack will inspire others. And probably ones that are far much worse than what happened in Georgia. It’s not going to stop there. A lot of people are going to die, Coulson. And you just want us to hide?”

Coulson raised an eyebrow at him, “I want you two to hide because you two are instrumental to my plan.” he stated matter-of-factly. “I can’t risk SHIELD getting to you now. And considering the events in Georgia will give them more the reason to enforce their beliefs, you are in major danger. Even if you didn’t just break out of a major camp. Hiding you is the best plan I have right now.”

Skye swallowed, coming to stand right next to Grant, “Are these Inhumans like the extremists?” she asked, looking between the two. “Are they-”

“No, they’re not.” Coulson cut in, almost coldly. “I made sure of that. All they want is Ainsley taken down and a world where Inhumans and humans can live together in peace. Reiss helped to make sure of that as well.”

Grant frowned, “Reiss?” he asked. “Who’s that?”

“The Inhuman that’s running the base. Ex-military, so he knows what he’s doing.”

“What can he do?”

“He can control technology.” Coulson answered. “So, you’d imagine that’s something SHIELD finds quite, well, dangerous. In fact, he escaped transport to Tartarus because SHIELD underestimated how to contain his powers because his powers caused the inhibitors to malfunction.” He nodded slowly, sensing Grant’s apprehension of the situation, “I promise that you can trust him. I’ve been working with him for a while now. And it’s best that we go meet him now. Grab your bags and grab Max.”

Grant and Skye looked at one another before picking up their bags and beginning to follow Coulson out. Grant whistled for Max to follow them, fear building deep within his chest. Honestly, there was no telling of what would come of this. There were already some Inhumans that viewed him as some kind of savior. An idol almost. And he still didn’t know to why.

Something  _ had  _ happened to him back at Tartarus that he couldn’t remember and it was the very reason why to those Inhumans seemed to worship him. There was something missing and he was determined to figure out to just what that could be. Something was wrong, and he didn’t like it one bit.

Coulson led them out of the Bus and onto an old, almost falling apart airstrip to where a tall, blonde and muscular man stood. The man seemed to be looking at them with apprehension. A jagged scar ran down the side of his face and Grant couldn’t take his eyes off of it.

“So, these are the two that you want us to hide, right?” the man asked, turning to look at Coulson. “You still do realize that their, well, situation isn’t quite the best, do you?”

Coulson took a sharp breath, “Yes, I do.” he answered. “That’s why I’m wanting them to hide here while I deal with things on my end. I can’t risk SHIELD finding them.”

“And you do realize that SHIELD’s after the two of them?” the man questioned again. “It’s a huge risk hiding two fugitives here that SHIELD really, really wants.”

“Aren’t you all technically fugitives?” Grant asked, butting his way into the conversation. “So, that’s pot calling the kettle black in this case.”

The man grimaced and turned to look at Grant, “Well, you  _ are  _ the one that inspired a terrorist attack, aren’t you?” he asked harshly, causing Grant to snarl at him. “I think you’re more a fugitive here than I am.”

“I had nothing to do with that attack. I’ll say that. I have no fucking clue to why those Inhumans were talking about me.” Grant spat. He frowned, “And how the hell do you know about that anyways?”

The man shrugged, “I can put two and two together. You were the only one that day who escaped from Tartarus during the fall that has pyrokinetic powers.” he began to explain. “And they were praising a ‘fire-wrapped devil’ that happened to be there. It doesn’t take a genius to figure you out, Mr. Ward. I’ve studied who you are and what you’ve done. I want to know just who I’m taking in here. This is a sensitive operation, I can let a borderline psychopath ruin everything here for me.”

Skye stepped in between the two, Max joining her, “Look, Grant had nothing to do with the Georgia attack.” she stated firmly. “Yes, Grant’s killed plenty before, but never an innocent civilian. He would never do such a thing. I don’t know why those Inhumans were praising him for whatever reason. Grant  _ did not  _ have a part in that attack. He was with me and the others the entire time. He never left the plane.”

“Well, there has to be a reason why those Inhumans did it for him. Something’s not adding up here. You-”

“Reiss, I called you for this because I trust you, not because I wanted you to berate my men.” Coulson cut in, glaring at the man. “I understand that you may not trust Ward right now, but that’s not our main concern right now. They are here for protection. Nothing else. If you can’t promise me with their safety, then I want you out of here.”

Reiss grimaced, “Fine. But, you understand to  _ why  _ I don’t trust him. I’m sure that many of the others won’t either.” he stated. “We want peace. We don’t trust someone who could inspire such a heinous act.”

“And I’m telling you that I had nothing to do with it.” Grant hissed, his eyes flaring red. His hand shot out and he grabbed Reiss by the collar, pulling him close. “Look, I don’t want any trouble here. Hell, all I want is for Skye and our baby to be safe. I hate SHIELD as much as you do. And I will admit that I hate humans, but I would never do such a thing to innocent civilians. Something is wrong here and you know it. I want to find that out. I had nothing to do with the attack. Everyone on that damn plane knows that. I just want to know if you can promise Skye and our baby’s safety. If you can do that, I won’t bother a single person here.”

Reiss stepped back as Grant let him go, “Fine. They’ll be safe.” he stated harshly. “But if you do anything funny, I won’t hesitate in throwing you out. I am only doing this because it may help to take Ainsley’s ass down.” He turned towards Coulson, “You know how to get into the base, go on and get them settled and we’ll talk before you have to leave. I’ll be there in a bit. I’ve got to do something first.”

Coulson nodded, eyeing the man with apprehension, “Alright, come on. I’ll get you two settled.” he stated, motioning for Grant and Skye to follow him. “Then I’ll be on my way. Hopefully, you two will be okay here.”

Reiss watched as the four headed towards the building, a smile starting to to grow on his face. 

_ “Things are going just as planned. I’ll plant the seed. And it’ll soon explode.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, things are really starting to pick up now. I've got a few ideas of what to do in mind, and I'm hoping that they'll work really well once I get to them. Any guesses? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	22. I'm Caught in the Midst of No Redemption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The worst comes to happen.

(Three Days Later)

Grant looked up as the door opened and Skye slipped into the room. A small smile pulled at his lips as he stood to his feet and met her near the door, slipping an around around her and drawing her close, “Where were you?” he asked. “You were gone for a while.”

Skye smiled, “I was just getting to know some of the people of this base, unlike what you’re doing.” she answered. “You’re just sitting in this dark room all the time. Just being with Max isn’t cutting it.”

He pulled away from her and shook his head, “I don’t feel like playing meet and greet here, Skye. That’s not what we’re here for. We’re only here for safety, not to make friends.” he said. “I don’t want you getting attached to anyone just yet. We may have to leave at a moment’s notice. We’re not in the position to make friends. And I still don’t trust anyone here.”

Skye frowned and crossed her arms, “Grant, I understand that you have a hard time trusting anyone, but everyone here is an Inhuman.” she began to explain. “They have no reason to hate you. You have the same goal as they do. Everyone here wants Ainsley’s SHIELD to fall.”

“You heard that jackass Reiss the other day. He already hates and distrusts me because of those terrorists.” Grant shot back, his voice tense. “He said that many probably already hate me just because of that. Because of something I have no control of. I still don’t know to why those terrorists love me so much, Skye. I don’t have any clue to why they would. But it’s clearly enough for them to claim that they killed a bunch of humans in my name.”

He shook his head and sat down on the edge of the bed, “Something’s wrong here, Skye.” he continued. “I don’t remember doing anything back at Tartarus that would’ve inspired a bunch of fucking crazies. I broke out of the lab I was in and headed straight for you. I took down a few SHIELD agents that stood in my way, but that’s about it. Something’s missing. And I don’t know to what it could be.”

Skye turned away from him briefly and bit her lip in thought,  _ “Something’s wrong, too. I know that. Could something be missing from his memory? If SHIELD really did something to him, then maybe there are things that he can’t remember at all.”  _ she thought.  _ “Either he really did something and he just can’t remember it, or SHIELD is responsible for this. Grant is probably one of their biggest enemies right now. I’m sure that they’re willing to do anything to take him down. He’s powerful. They don’t want that against him.” _

“Skye,” Grant called, pulling her out of her thoughts. “I don’t know what’s going on anymore. I…” He ran his hands through his hair and shook his head. Skye turned around and her stomach froze, seeing utter fear and sadness in his eyes. “There’s something wrong with me. I-I don’t know what it could be, but there’s something wrong with me. I… I think SHIELD did something to me and I don’t know what they did.” He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, “I wasn’t like this before they arrested me last year. Something happened to me. And I’m afraid to find out what that is.”

Skye looked at him for a little bit, not sure of what to say to him. Yes, it was the very thing that she and Coulson feared. Grant didn’t mention what that SHIELD agents had said to him that day in Tartarus. Maybe he didn’t want to say that quite yet, considering things. Skye also didn’t want to say anything about having Coulson did into it. Not yet. She knew that it would be a bad idea to reveal that they had been hiding something from him all this time.

She swallowed and walked over to him, sitting down next to him. She took his hand, “Grant, I’m sure we’ll figure out to whatever the hell it is that’s going on.” she began. “There’s… There’s just so much going on right now, it’s hard to focus on one thing. What…. What do you think is wrong with you?”

Grant shook his head and looked down to where Max lay asleep on the floor, “I don’t know. That’s the problem.” he began. “I-”

He was cut off as Skye’s phone let out a shrill beep, causing him to frown.

Skye reached for her phone and looked at it, “It’s a message from Fitz. He says to turn on the TV to any news. It’s bad. Real bad.” she stated, looking over to Grant.

Grant’s stomach dropped, “Another attack?”

Skye shrugged, “I don’t know. He didn’t say.” she answered, reaching for the remote that was the for small TV in the room. “Probably.” She switched on the TV, the two of them falling silent as the news came on.

_ “If you’re just joining us, we’re following breaking news right out of Washington DC. SHIELD just released a statement within the last hour revealing the identity of who they believe is behind the recent Inhuman attack in Georgia where 35 were killed. They believe that this man is the leader of an anti-human Inhuman terrorist group.” _

Grant and Skye looked at one another, an uneasy silence settling over the two of them. 

_ “SHIELD authorities are warning the public to be on the lookout for this man.” _

Time seemed to slow down around Grant as his image was flashed across the screen. He stood to his feet, his stomach completely freezing over. But, he could feel the fiery rage starting to bubble deep within his chest. It wouldn’t be long before he exploded. Literally. 

_ “SHIELD authorities say that Grant Ward is an ex-agent who is responsible for the brutal deaths of many heroic SHIELD agents who broke out of a high-security SHIELD prison just over a week ago. Ward is a high-level, pyrokinetic Inhuman with extreme anti-human views. If you happen to see him, you are to call law enforcement immediately. Do NOT approach him under any circumstances.” _

Skye’s mouth fell open at the utter nonsense, looking over towards Grant, “Grant…”

Grant sat there with his head down and his shoulders slumped, the air around him starting to shimmer and Skye could tell that he was about to explode, “Turn. That. Shit. Off.” he growled. “Now.”

Skye swallowed and quickly turned the TV off, not wanting to hear any of it either. She stood to her feet, “Grant, you know that’s not real. They’re just-”

“Shut up.” Grant growled. “I want them dead. They’re doing this shit to me for a reason. And they obviously enjoy it. They’re looking to turn everyone against me.”

Taking a sharp breath, Skye steadied herself, watching as Max shrunk away from his owner. “Grant, you need to keep yourself together before you lose yourself. This is exactly what they’re wanting out of you. They want you to explode. Keep yourself together and we can deal with this before it gets anymore out of hand.”

“Shut up!” Grant sprung to his feet and pushed past her, almost knocking her to her feet. “Just… Just stay out of this, Skye. I can’t… I can’t…” He shook his head and looked around like he was suddenly confused and there was something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite recognize. Something that wasn’t himself. He then bolted out of the room, leaving her all alone. 

_ “Grant, what… What the hell’s wrong with you? SHIELD’s done something to you.”  _ she looked back to the blank TV,  _ “No, this is what they wanted. They turn everyone against you. Make you have nothing left. Make you explode. _

_ This was all their plan.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, now things are just getting worse for Grant and Skye, aren't they? The next few chapters are going to be nothing but action, which is probably a good thing. Any ideas of what's going to happen? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	23. The Truth Became a Casualty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hell rises.

Skye ran out of the room, telling Max to head with her just as a small explosion shook the compound. She stopped, knowing that it was Grant’s doing. She could feel the waves of his fear and anger radiating all the way to where she was at; it was that strong. Of course whatever was going on had him absolutely and utterly enraged, she would be too. Skye still had a very strong feeling that SHIELD had set him up so they could get rid of him more easily by making him public enemy number one. Everyone probably was starting to fear him at this point. 

She whistled at Max, getting him to follow her as she jogged down the hallway, following the source of Grant’s pain.  _ “Boy, I’m glad that I’m not heavily pregnant.”  _ she thought.  _ “But, honestly, that’s the least of my worries right now. I won’t be able to have the baby if this all falls through. SHIELD’s way worse than I thought. And judging by the fact that they framed Grant for the terrorist attack, they’re probably behind it. They’re going to any lengths to prove that Inhumans are absolute monsters. We need to take them down as fast as possible, but Coulson needs Grant in order to do that. I hate to say it, but Grant’s our greatest weapon. He’s got enough rage to take down an entire corrupt organization. I just can’t let him go off the deep end now.” _

Skye quickened her pace as another small explosion shook the ground beneath her, sending shockwaves deep into her bones.  _ “Not good.”  _ she thought, making sure that Max was still following her.  _ “I haven’t seen him like this. But if SHIELD fears him this much, then he has to be terrifying. They call him a demon for a reason, and I don’t want to find out to why.” _

She ran for another minute before an Inhuman with some kind of tail came out of nowhere, a frantic look on his face, stopping Skye dead in her tracks. She frowned, waiting for the man to say something.

He pointed at her, “This is all your damn fault!” he exclaimed. “You brought that monster here and now he’s going to bring down this entire building on us!” His alien-like tail flicked angrily behind him. 

Skye swallowed, feeling anger starting to build somewhere deep within her chest, “Well, I’m sorry that he was just framed for a fucking terrorist attack.” she deadpanned, keeping Max close to her. “Now, get out of my way.”

“No, you’ll just make things worse. Let others deal with him.” A strange smile pulled at the Inhuman’s lips, “And I thought that you were pregnant? Why throw yourself into something like this?”

A muscle twitched near Skye’s eye, “That doesn’t mean that I’m helpless.” she almost hissed. “You’re wasting time. I’m the only one that can calm him down. This will get a whole lot worse if I don’t get to him soon.”

“He needs to be dealt with. He’s a monster and we  _ definitely  _ don’t want him here. We just want peace with humanity. We don’t want someone who would orchestrate an attack against innocent lives. You need to leave. You and your psychopathic boyfriend boy. He isn’t welcomed here.”

Skye’s eyes flared and she took a step towards the Inhuman, “Grant has been with me for over the past month.” she began. “I would’ve known if he had actually done such a thing. He may hate humanity, but he would never attack an innocent life. He’s promised me that. Someone set him up to make him look like an even bigger monster than he actually is. And you’re not helping by getting in my damn face. 

Grant isn’t like that.” she continued. “He’s never been like that. Now get out of my way so I can go find him before he completely loses it if he hasn’t already.”

“You,”

Skye let out a quick burst of energy, knocking the man to the ground, “I don’t have time for this.” she hissed, stalking past him with Max right on her heels. “You don’t know Grant like I do. You’re wrong. He would  _ never  _ do such a thing. I know him. He isn’t like that.”

She started her original pace back up again, feeling the energy of Grant’s powers starting to build again, signalling yet another explosion. Fear started to build up in her chest and she honestly feared the worst. She had no idea of what Grant was really capable of. 

_ “Do… Do I really know him, though? I haven’t barely even known him two months. I barely even know him.” _

  
  


(Elsewhere)

_ “I didn’t do it! T-There’s no way I would do such a thing!” _

Grant blinked, looking around him and seeing nothing but flames. He was all but consumed by them, but he was completely unscathed by them, of course. Thoughts swarmed around in his head as he fought to fight back the growing rage. He barely had any hold on himself anymore. He could barely even process what was going on around him. It was just him and his rage at his point. 

_ “I…. I want to kill them. Kill them all.”  _ His thoughts grew heavier and heavier as it felt as though something was trying to tear right out of his chest. He barely felt like himself now. Something was wrong, something terribly wrong and he didn’t like it one bit. 

A growing part of him only wanted to kill those that had wronged him. Nothing else. That part wanted to find SHIELD and rip them limb from limb. Perhaps that was the demon that everyone feared. Maybe it was the part of him that he feared was there. The part he didn’t remember. The part that he feared did things without his knowledge. Was that what was trying to tear straight out of his chest? Was that what was trying to take him over his in moment of utter rage?

_ “No… I can’t do this. Skye. The baby. Max. I… I can’t leave them behind.” _

_ “NO! Find those bastards and rip them apart! Give them what they deserve! You aren’t that weak man anymore!”  _ something else argued deep within his mind. Something that was alien.  _ “You are more than a coward, give them a reason to fear the demon they claim you to be!” _

Grant shook his head, holding it between his hands, “I don’t want to….” he mumbled. “I can’t do that. Never that.” 

“You leave him alone for five minutes and he goes fucking crazy. I see why you want him dead.”

Grant’s attention was pulled to the present and the flames around him suddenly snuffed out as his anger suddenly turned to pure and utter fear. He took in the sight around him, taking a few seconds for his brain to process that he was surrounded by black-clad, heavily-armed SHIELD agents. Wait, when had they gotten in here? 

The line of agents in front of him parted and the Inhuman Reiss walked through, a sly smile on his face as he spread his hands out in front of him. “I’m surprised that this convoluted plan  _ actually  _ worked.” he began, raising a hand to tell the agents to stand down for a moment. “You come up with a lie and the man shits his pants. I don’t know what the hell you are, Ward. But you’re more than Inhuman. Far more.” His smile grew, “But, you’re getting me a pretty penny. I like that.”

Grant blinked, trying to process things. “You… You double-crossed us.” he muttered, the fear quickly turning back to utter rage. “I thought you were Inhuman!” His eyes started to bleed red again. 

“I am.” Reiss looked around him. “But SHIELD offered me both protection and money if I turned you in. I don’t care about anyone else. I don’t care to who lives or dies.”

“An entire compound filled with innocent Inhumans!” Grant roared, his voice distorted and heavy with anger. But, he found himself unable to move. “You… You’re a fucking coward!”

Reiss’ smile grew, “But a rich one.” he stated. “And I want my money, so stand still and die, you demon. I don’t think you know what you’re fighting for. You don’t have much of a head on you. You lost long ago and I took the side of the winners. That’s where the money is. Oh, and don’t think about moving. I’m tapped into the defense turrets set up in the room. One move and I tell them to shoot you dead, Ward.”

Rage completely consumed Grant once more and he could no longer think again. He just wanted Reiss dead. Him and every last SHIELD agent in the room. 

It was just another knife in the back. One in a long line of many. But, he was sick and tired of people stabbing him in the back just because of what he was. That was about to stop, though. He wanted it to end. He wanted it all to end. 

Maybe it was time to embrace the demon everyone thought he was after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this. This is where the second part of the story starts. Which will be one hell of a ride and I promise to get through it as fast as I can so there isn't much of a wait. Any guesses to what will happen? I'll be surprised if anyone actually does guess right, though. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	24. The Point of No Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end comes.

Reiss smiled as Grant’s eyes turned completely red and smoke started to rise from the Inhuman’s skin, “What?” he asked, touching his chest in mock pain. “Did I upset you? I’m surprised to how fast it takes to make you pissed. I don’t even understand to how that girl stays with you. Hell, she probably only stays with you because she’s carrying that hellspawn of yours.”

Grant’s eyes flared again and he took a zombie-like step towards Reiss and the line of SHIELD agents. Reiss raised a cautious hand, his smile growing even bigger. 

“Uh, remember what I said about the turrets?” Reiss teased. “I control them. One move and I tell all of them to fire. You’ll be dead in a matter of seconds. Don’t you remember that?” He frowned as he noticed the blank stare coming from Grant, nothing but fire in the man’s eyes, “Of course not. Seems like nothing’s going on in that head of yours. Looks like I fucking broke you.” He looked at the agents surrounding him, “That’s not gonna deduct from the bounty, is it?” he laughed out loud. “As long as he’s dead, right? I-”

Reiss was cut off as he suddenly found a hand around his neck and he was hoisted into the air. He stared down at Grant, who snarled at him as ethereal flames burned off of him. Reiss found that he couldn’t speak, but he looked around at the SHIELD agents that were  _ supposed  _ to protect him, but found that they were all frozen in place by utter fear. They were all terrified of Grant. They had all heard of the monster he was and they were finally coming face to face with that very monster. 

Grant cocked his head and a wall of flames suddenly circled the two of them, shielding them from the SHIELD agents. “There.” he said, his voice devoid of any emotion. “They can’t kill me now. Bullets can’t kill if they get burnt up before they can even reach me.”

Reiss’s green eyes widened in fear, “How... “ he trailed off and shook his head. “How did you?” He couldn’t find the words he was fighting for. 

A chilling smile pulled at Grant’s lips, “I’m capable of far more than you realize.” he stated. “I like that you’re afraid of me. Good.”

“W-What?” Reiss stammered, his legs flailing beneath him. “What do you want from me?”

Grant’s eyes flared, “What do I want?” He brought the man towards him, “Your Goddamn head.” he hissed, the demonic light in his eyes deeply unsettling Reiss. “You fucking betray your own kind for what? Money? People like you are the worst. You’re giving up an entire building filled with innocent lives. Families who are hiding in order to save their lives because their very own government is after their heads because of the way that they were born. 

You’re Inhuman yourself.” Grant continued, his hellish eyes boring into Reiss. “Why betray your very people? Tell me.”

“They offered me protection! They promised that they wouldn’t harm me since I gave up your location!” Reiss argued, trying to free himself from Grant’s insanely strong grip. “I was desperate and tired of hiding! I thought giving this base up would solve all of my problems! It’s nothing but sacrifice!”

“Sacrifice is giving yourself up to protect others!” Grant growled, his voice becoming pretty much distorted in anger. “Trust me, I know! I’ve sacrificed so damn much for everyone else and what have I’ve gotten in return?! Nothing but fucking betrayal!” He started to tighten his hand around Reiss’ neck; it wouldn’t take much for him to snap the man’s neck. “I’m so sick and tired of being stabbed in the back by every person I try to trust! I need to… I need to get rid of that.” He started to seem confused again, his mind becoming muddled once more. “I’ll deal with that.”

Reiss swallowed, “What kind of monster are you?” he asked, his voice small in fear. “Why does SHIELD hate you so damn much? What are you?”

Flames flared from Grant’s body, conforming to his shape and covering his body like some kind of hellish armor. The flames where his mouth would’ve been cracked open into a sharp, mouth-like shape. “A demon.”

Before Reiss could react, flames covered Grant’s hand and bled onto his neck and quickly engulfed his body. His screams rang out as Grant threw the flaming body aside. The sound of crackling electronics quickly filled the air as electronics all around them started to go haywire, but Grant didn’t hear the turrets. Of course, another lie. There were never any turrets. It was just a tactic in order to scare him. 

_ “More lies.”  _ he thought.  _ “Lies.” _

The wall of flames surrounding the two snuffed out as the flame-covered Grant turned to face the SHIELD agents. Their eyes widened as they all took in the sight of the burning Grant and the now-burned corpse that once was Reiss. Grant took another zombie-like step towards them. 

“Kill you now.” Grant stated, pointing a flaming finger towards them. “Want you dead. All of SHIELD, too. Can’t let you kill anyone else.”

The SHIELD agents looked at one another, not sure of what to do. They all knew that bullets would be useless against Grant’s flaming form. But, they also knew that if they kept standing around they would end up just like Reiss. 

Was  _ this  _ the monster the higher-ups were so damn afraid of?

No, this was a demon. SHIELD had created a demon by tampering with the DNA of an Inhuman. They wanted something stronger, and they got an absolute monster in return. 

Grant went to take another step towards the agents, but a voice stopped him.

“Stand down, Mr. Ward. That’s enough. You dealt with Reiss for us.”

Grant’s body froze up before he could move anymore and the flames covering his body started to recede back into his skin. There was something about those words that sunk claws into his mind and anchored him to the present. 

The line of SHIELD agents parted and a black-clad woman stepped out of nowhere towards Grant. Grant immediately recognized the woman, sending a flash of rage through his mind.

“Roswell.” 

The woman smiled, glad that Grant remembered her. Adrienne Roswell. Ainsley’s right-hand man. Responsible for many of the large-scale Inhuman round up campaigns. And the very woman that sent him to that science base after SHIELD had labeled him as the enemy. 

“Well, I’m glad that you still remember people like me.”

Grant snarled, “That’s because you’re one of the people that ruined my life.” he hissed, wanting to launch himself towards her. But he found that he could not move. “What… What do you want?”

Roswell cocked her head, “Well, to retrieve our most valuable experiment.” she stated. “Wanted to see to it myself.”

“Do. Not. Call. Me. That.” Grant growled through clenched teeth. “I don’t like that.”

“Well, that’s what you are. You’re nothing but an experiment, Mr. Ward.” Roswell stated. “We made you into a powerful marvel. We lost control of you for a bit and feared that we would have to kill you, but with a bit of mental trauma, we have you again. We needed something to break you. That terrorist attack was what we needed. And Reiss as well. We have our soldier again. Our little devil.”

Grant’s stomach flipped, “Huh? What are you-”

“Stand down. It’s time to fight, Ward.” she begun. “Infernal. Ember. Brimstone. Gehenna. Damnation. Ignition. Obsidian.” She paused and smiled, “Hellfire.”

Grant’s eyes quickly went blank and his shoulders slumped, the last bit of himself fading away as Roswell’s claws sunk firmly into his mind and took control. 

Roswell nodded and stepped forward, “Alright, Agent Ward.” she stated. “Are you awake?”

Grant looked up and blinked, “Yes.” he answered, his voice lacking its usual tone. Not quite emotionless, but something was missing. “I’m here.”

“Good, now that we have you again, it’s time for your mission.” Roswell began, almost as though she was in a briefing. “I want you to return to what you were doing before, like nothing ever happened. We’ll be back soon to gather the Inhumans here. This area is sealed off from everything else, so no one will ever know that something happened. I want you to do two things.

First, I want you to bring the traitor to me. Whoever broke you out of Tartarus. I know that it was someone inside of SHIELD and that they brought you here.” she continued. “Reiss wouldn’t tell me because he was far too focused on the ‘money’ that he was going to get. Which he never would’ve gotten anyways. We were going to bring him in afterwards, but we figured that you were going to kill him anyways. But still, I want you to bring in the traitor, whoever they may be.”

Grant nodded, “I know who it is.” he stated. “I can tell you know if you want.”

Roswell smiled, “Sure, go ahead. But we won’t deal with it until we come back here. More of a show.” she answered. 

“Phil Coulson.”

Roswell’s smile faltered, “Coulson?” she questioned. “I… He’s… He doesn’t seem like the type. But he does have a heart for others, I see how he could be misguided.”

“He has others working with him.” Grant continued, looking straight at Roswell. “But it’s mainly him.”

Roswell shook her head, “Coulson’s all we need to know right now since he seems to be the mastermind. We’ll deal with the others later.” she stated in response. “But good, that’s good. Maybe we’ll shut all this shit down once and for all.”

“And my other order?”

“Oh, yes that. Like I said, I want you to act like nothing ever happened. Go back to that girlfriend of yours. But when we come back, I want you to drag her and that hellspawn she’s carrying to me.” Roswell explained with a slight smile, “I can’t allow that  _ thing  _ to live. We’ll rip that thing right out of her.”

Grant’s focus faltered, “Skye?” he asked. “You want me to bring her?”

Roswell frowned a bit, “Is that insubordination, Agent Ward?” she asked. “You can’t let feelings get in the way of the mission.”

Grant’s attention snapped back to Roswell, “No, it isn’t. I’ll bring her to you. And the… The baby as well.”

Roswell’s smile returned, “Good. We’ll be back in a week.” she began, turning back to her agents. “We’ll rip this building apart. And you are the key piece to all of this, Agent Ward. Don’t fail me.”

“I’ll do it. I’ll bring everyone to you.”

Her smile grew as she walked away, “Good, now act like nothing ever happened. But don’t forget the mission.” she stated. “I don’t need you growing out of control again.”

Grant nodded and turned away, heading away from Roswell and her SHIELD agents and heading towards the exit of the room. Something deep in the back of his mind screamed at him to stop, but the claws that Roswell had set were far much stronger. That was his main driving force right now.

He left the room, knowing that no one would ever know that SHIELD had discovered the base. Or that Reiss was a dead, burnt corpse. They didn’t need to know that quite yet. No one needed to know. 

Turning down the hallway, he ran smack into Skye, who stumbled backward and looked at him wildly.

“Grant!” she exclaimed, noting his burned clothing. “You’re… You’re okay.”

“I just needed to blow some steam off, Skye.” he stated, something not quite right in his voice. “I’m okay now. I think.” He knelt down and threaded his fingers through the scruff on Max’s neck. “Tired.” His eyes trailed up to her belly, the mission tickling at the back of his head. 

A relieved look formed on Skye face as Grant stood up, “Oh, good. I was afraid that you were going to bring down the whole building on us.” she began. “But you look terrible. Let’s go get you cleaned up. You might wanna lay low for a while, people aren’t reacting quite well to the ‘news’ that you were ‘behind’ the attack.”

“It still wasn’t me.” Grant stated, almost harshly as Skye led him back towards their room, Max in tow. “I would never do such a thing.”

“And I know that, but I can’t seem to convince them. No matter what I say. We just need to lay low long enough until Coulson can figure something out.”

Roswell’s claws scraped across Grant’s mind again as he eyed Skye,  _ “Only for a week.”  _ he thought. 

_ “One week.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. That's what SHIELD did to Grant. They brainwashed him. So, the story is that the experiments caused his rage to snap him out of the brainwashing long enough for him to escape. But the mental trauma of being blamed for the attack and the rage towards Reiss' betrayal made his mind weak enough for the control to be reinstated. So, yeah. But I have a plan, don't worry! It'll all work out in the end. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	25. I Am the Nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye starts to figure things out.

(The Next Day)

Skye watched as Grant walked around, frowning to herself. She still swore that something felt off about him, but she couldn’t figure out to what. Honestly, it scared her a little bit. She still didn’t know to where he had gone the day before after he flipped out. He had been gone for a little over an hour and there was no telling to where he had gone and to what he had done. 

She tried to tell herself that he was acting funny because of what had happened yesterday. Because of being blamed for that terrorist attack. But, she thought that he would be acting more angry than this. He seemed more distant than usual, like not all of him was there. He still knew what he was doing and he still remembered what he had done the day before. But it was like something had changed in him during that hour he had been missing. 

Skye knew that something had happened and she wanted to figure it out. But, she knew that this was something that she couldn’t do with him around. Perhaps she could wait until he was asleep, knowing that it wouldn’t be along before he fell asleep. There wasn’t much for them to do at the base, especially now considering everyone hated Grant because of that terrorist attack he had been blamed for. 

Something was wrong with Grant and she feared that it was something bad. Something really bad. 

Grant walked over to her, tilting his head as he stopped right in front of her, “What’s wrong, Skye?” he asked, some kind of coldness deep within his voice. Something that Skye couldn’t quite place. His voice just sounded  _ wrong.  _ Even though he still sounded concerned, something just seemed wrong about it. 

She shook her head, “I’m fine.” she lied straight through her teeth. “Just worried, that’s all.”

He kneeled in front of her and looked up, “About what happened yesterday?” he asked, referring to SHIELD blaming him for the attack.

“I guess you can say that. Everyone here hates us now because of it.” she answered. “I just… I just don’t feel safe anymore. Perhaps we should call Coulson. Maybe we should move.”

Grant immediately shook his head, “No.” he stated firmly. “We can’t move yet. Give it a while. They’ll get over it. I’ll prove to them that I had nothing to do with that attack. I understand to why they would hate me for it, but I didn’t do anything wrong. None of this is going to work if they’re going to kick me out over some damn lie.”

Skye stood to her feet and moved around him, “I don’t understand to why SHIELD would blame you for it. Unless they knew that it would piss you off and would end up dragging you out of hiding.” she explained. “Something’s wrong here. And you know it, too.”

Grant blinked and stood up, staring right at her, “Skye, things will be okay.” he stated in response. “Just give them time. We’ll deal with them properly.” He frowned as she started towards the room’s door, “Where are you going?”

“Going to get some air.” she stated, reaching for the doorknob. “You need to rest. I don’t think that you slept a single wink last night, did you?”

“Want me to come with you?” he asked, ignoring what Skye had asked. “You don’t need-”

“I’ll be  _ fine _ , Grant.” she stressed, opening the door. “You don’t have to come with me everywhere I go. I appreciate the notion, though. I won’t be gone long. Thirty minutes. Tops. Max can keep you company.”

“But,”

Skye gave him a forced smile, “Grant, I told you. I’ll be fine.” she stated, looking at him. “I just need some time to myself for once.”

He blinked, “Fine.” he sat on the edge of the bed, watching the sleeping Max out of the corner of his eye. “But if you’re gone longer than thirty minutes, I’ll come look for you. I’m just afraid that someone will try to hurt you because of that attack.”

“I’ll be fine.” Skye walked out of the room, closing the door behind her and making sure that it locked. She knew that she didn’t have enough time to wait until Grant was asleep. She hoped that he heeded her word and stayed put. She couldn’t risk having him following her now. Not until she figured out to just what the hell was going on. 

_ “Wait, where did I find him?”  _ she thought to herself, retracing her steps from the day before.  _ “He had to be around there. That’s where I found him. I know that something happened yesterday. He’s acting too strange. Forced almost. But, I still don’t really know to what it is. I just know that something’s wrong. There’s far too much going on right now and I wouldn’t doubt that something happened. But, do I really want to know what that could even be.” _

She stopped as she came to the area where she had bumped into Grant the day before. Looking around, she found a sealed door. Her stomach flipped as she noticed that both the lock and knob had been melted away. And it looked fresh too. A huge part of her told her that Grant had done so. So no one could get in. But why? 

Honestly, the thought scared her. 

There had to be a reason to  _ why  _ Grant was acting off. And she was going to find that out. 

She went up to the door, studying it carefully.  _ “Obviously Grant’s handiwork.”  _ she thought.  _ “It’s clean, despite it being melted.”  _ She tested the door and found that it would not open.  _ “It’s obvious that he didn’t want anyone getting in for some reason. But why? I could send a quick burst of energy into it. Even if it’s melted, it’ll still shatter.” _

She took a step back and aimed her hand at the lock and knob,  _ “Steady.”  _ she thought.  _ “Can’t risk injuring myself now.”  _ She closed her eyes and sent a small shockwave towards the door, making sure that all of the energy was dispelled. The lock and knob shattered on impact, the fragments falling below to the concrete floor.The door swung open as a result.

Holding her breath, she made her way into the room, finding that she was in an old, abandoned storage space of sorts. Dirtied windows filtered low light into the space, illuminating the rusty equipment around her. Reiss must’ve closed this space off so he could keep the Inhumans together. 

_ “Why would Grant want to keep people out of here?”  _ Skye asked herself, making her way around the equipment?  _ “I hope that the lock wasn’t a failsafe. He would know if someone got in. But why hide. Why…” _

Her thoughts trailed off as she came to a sudden stop, her hand flying to her mouth. 

She stared at the burned corpse in front of her, the smell of charred flesh still permeating the air around it. Even though the body was burned to almost nothing, she could still recognize who the man once had been.

Reiss.

She stumbled backwards,  _ “Why… Why would Grant kill a member of his own kind? Reiss was on our side, even if he was a jackass. No, this wasn’t because he was angry about being blamed for the attack. This had to happen just before I ran into him.  _

_ But why? Grant had really no reason to kill him, even if he didn’t like him. Something’s wrong. And Grant’s acting… He’s acting like nothing ever happened.” _

She jumped as something creaked behind her. She spun around to find nothing there. She brought her hand to her stomach and refused to look back at Reiss’ dead body. No, there was something wrong with Grant. What had happened that she didn’t know about. Something had caused him to snap and brutally murder another Inhuman.

But why was he acting like nothing ever happened?

Something was wrong with Grant.

Something really, really wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for it being rough, but I couldn't think of what to write. But, Skye now suspects that there is something wrong with Grant and had found Reiss' body. And things will just get worse from here. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	26. The Righteous Side of Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye finds out the truth.

(Two Days Later)

The next day came and went at a snail’s pace for Skye. She couldn’t find the strength to act normally around Grant, considering what she had found yesterday. She also couldn’t find herself to believe that Grant would murder one of his own kind. He had only ever shown hatred towards humans, not other Inhumans. Yes, Reiss had been one, huge jackass, but that wouldn’t be enough to make Grant snap against the man and make him kill him. Something was  _ very  _ off, especially since Grant seemed to act like nothing had ever happened. 

Skye desperately wanted to find out the cause to why. 

She had slipped out of the room that morning as Grant slept, leaving Max with him. Again, this was something she couldn’t risk him finding out since she had no idea to what was going on with him. And she didn’t want him somehow inflicting his wrath on her, even though she knew that was a very slim chance. But there was always the the slight possibility. 

_ “There has to be a camera in there. I’ve seen cameras everywhere else.”  _ she thought as she walked around.  _ “If there is, it had to be recording whatever happened. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this yesterday. But I didn’t have much time. I need to do this before Grant wakes up and realizes that I’m gone. I’m worried that there’s something wrong with him. Something’s off with him and I don’t know what it is. I need to figure out what it is before it’s too late.” _

She turned and headed down towards another hallway,  _ “I think there’s a security room nearby. I haven’t seen anyone in it, but it still has to work. This place used to be a factory, so they had to keep an eye on things.”  _ she thought.  _ “Hopefully, it’ll show me what I need to see. I just… I just hope that it’s not too bad.” _

After a few minutes, she found the security room and made her way into it once she found that it was unlocked. She smiled slightly, seeing that the computers and screens were still on. Perhaps someone did come in here every now and then to check on things, but maybe not in a few days. Or they just didn’t care that they were on. Either way, Skye was just glad that they were still on, so that made things a lot easier for her on her end. There was just the matter of whatever she ended up finding. That was what was worrying to her. 

Skye sat down in front of the screens, starting to filter through the different video feeds. It took a bit for her to find a feed marked ‘Storage Bay’, figuring that this was the area where she had found Reiss’ body. She rewinded the feed to two days ago and got it to where Grant suddenly burst into the room in a fit of rage. She watched as Grant went ballistic at practically nothing, flames flaring around him. 

Her heart shattered as she watched him, knowing that SHIELD was the cause of all of this. They had blamed him for something he had absolutely no part in and had ruined his life. All because he happened to be different. 

They were all deemed as criminals just because they were different. 

She frowned as she saw Reiss walk into the room and say something. She had to pause the video and try to turn the volume up as far as she could and resumed the video. 

_ “You leave him alone for five minutes and he goes fucking crazy. I see why you want him dead.” _

Skye’s heart felt like lead as heavily-armed agents suddenly surrounded Grant from pretty much nowhere. SHIELD? How? When? Why weren’t they in custody yet? 

Reiss approached a confused and scared-looking Grant,  _ “I’m surprised that this convoluted plan actually worked.”  _ he said, raising a hand.  _ “You come up with a lie and the man shits his pants. I don’t know what the hell you are, Ward. But you’re more than Inhuman. Far more. But, you’re getting me a pretty penny. I like that.” _

“You… You double-crossed us.” she heard Grant mutter and she could tell the exact moment that he began enraged again.  _ “I thought  you were Inhuman!” _

_ “I am.”  _ Reiss stated.  _ “But SHIELD offered me both protection and money if I turned you in. I don’t care about anyone else. I don’t care to who lives or dies.” _

_ “An entire compound filled with innocent Inhumans!”  _ Grant screamed, his voice full of sheer rage.  _ “You… You’re a fucking coward!” _

Skye swallowed. That’s why Grant killed Reiss. They had been stabbed in the back by him. All for money. But if SHIELD had found them, why hadn’t they been taken in yet? What was going on?

_ “But a rich one.”  _ Reiss chided.  _ “And I want my money, so stand still and die, you demon. I don’t think you know what you’re fighting for. You don’t have much of a head on you. You lost long ago and I took the side of the winners. That’s where the money is. Oh, and don’t think about moving. I’m tapped into the defense turrets set up in the room. One move and I tell them to shoot you dead, Ward.” _

Skye could see smoke starting to rise from Grant’s skin, knowing that it wouldn’t be long until the man blew. 

_ “What?”  _ Reiss touched his chest in mock pain.  _ “Did I upset you? I’m surprised to how fast it takes to make you pissed. I don’t even understand to how that girl stays with you. Hell, she probably only stays with you because she’s carrying that hellspawn of yours.” _

Skye watched with growing horror as Grant took a slow step towards the man. Reiss raised his hand again. 

_ “Uh, remember what I said about the turrets?” _ Reiss teased.  _ “I control them. One move and I tell all of them to fire. You’ll be dead in a matter of seconds. Don’t you remember that? Of course not. Seems like nothing’s going on in that head of yours. Looks like I fucking broke you.” _ He looked at the agents surrounding him,  _ “That’s not gonna deduct from the bounty, is it?” _ he laughed out loud.  _ “As long as he’s dead, right? I-” _

Skye’s eyes widened in terror as Grant suddenly shot forward and grabbed Reiss by the neck, hoisting him into the air. The SHIELD agents were frozen in terror as well. Skye knew very well that they knew of what Grant was capable of, so they didn’t want to mess with him. 

A wall of flames suddenly surrounded the two and hid them from view. The crackling of the flames and the horrified murmurs of the agents covered up what Grant or Reiss was saying, so Skye had no idea of what was going on. Several agonizing minutes passed by before the wall of flames died away to reveal Reiss’ burned corpse laying on the ground and a completely fire-engulfed Grant, but something seemed different about Grant this time around. 

This was what Grant was when completely and utterly enraged. 

This was the  _ demon _ SHIELD feared. 

Skye felt sick to her stomach and she knew that it wasn’t the baby. She had watched Grant morph into a monster. A monster she didn’t know at all.

_ “Kill you now.”  _ Grant droned.  _ “Wnat you dead. All of SHIELD, too. Can’t let you kill anyone else.” _

The SHIELD agents remained frozen, refusing to move. It was obvious to Skye that they were absolutely terrified of him. Grant went to step towards them, but a woman’s voice caused him to stop. 

_ “Stand down, Mr. Ward. That’s enough. You dealt with Reiss for us.” _

Skye frowned as Grant suddenly froze up and his flames disappeared as a black-clad woman appeared from out of nowhere. 

_ “Roswell.”  _ Skye heard Grant growl.

Skye didn’t know who this woman was, but considering that Grant seemed to absolutely hate her, she was bad news. 

_ “Well, I’m glad that you still remember people like me.”  _ Roswell mused. 

Grant snarled,  _ “That’s because you’re one of the people that ruined my life.”  _ he hissed.  _ “What… What do you want?” _

Roswell cocked her head,  _  “Well, to retrieve our most valuable experiment.”  _ she stated.  _ “Wanted to see to it myself.”  _

_ “Do. Not. Call. Me. That.”  _ Grant growled through clenched teeth.  _ “I don’t like that.” _

_ “Well, that’s what you are. You’re nothing but an experiment, Mr. Ward. We made you into a powerful marvel. We lost control of you for a bit and feared that we would have to kill you, but with a bit of mental trauma, we have you again. We needed something to break you. That terrorist attack was what we needed. And Reiss as well. We have our soldier again. Our little devil.”  _

Roswell’s words terrified Skye. Just what the hell was she talking about? It was clear that there was more to the experiments Grant had gone through than originally thought.

_ “Huh? What are you-” _

_ “Stand down. It’s time to fight, Ward.”  _ Roswell cut in.  _ “Infernal. Ember. Brimstone. Gehenna. Damnation. Ignition. Obsidian.”  _ She paused and smiled,  _ “Hellfire.” _

Skye eye’s widened in terror as Grant’s shoulders slumped and something seemed  _ so wrong.  _

Roswell nodded and stepped forward,  _ “Alright, Agent Ward.”  _ she stated.  _ “Are you awake?” _

To Skye’s dismay, Grant looked up at Roswell,  _ “Yes.”  _ his voice sounding like how it did now.  _ “I’m here.” _

_ “Good, now that we have you again, it’s time for your mission.”  _ Roswell began.  _ “I want you to return to what you were doing before, like nothing ever happened. We’ll be back soon to gather the Inhumans here. This area is sealed off from everything else, so no one will ever know that something happened. I want you to do two things.  _

_ First, I want you to bring the traitor to me. Whoever broke you out of Tartarus. I know that it was someone inside of SHIELD and that they brought you here. Reiss wouldn’t tell me because he was far too focused on the money that he was going to get. Which he would’ve never would’ve gotten anyways. We were going to bring him in afterwards, but we figured that you were going to kill him anyways. But still, I want you to bring in the traitor, whoever they may be.” _

Grant nodded,  _ “I know who it is. I can tell you if you want.” _

_ “Sure, go ahead. But we won’t deal with it until we come back here. More of a show.” _

_ “Phil Coulson.” _

Blood started to rush in Skye’s ears. Grant had just revealed Coulson as the traitor to SHIELD. But… Was Grant… Brainwashed? That was it. SHIELD was controlling him. That’s why there were things that he couldn’t remember. That’s why his mind was so screwed up. SHIELD had violated him in more ways than previously thought. He was being  _ controlled.  _

_ “And my other order?”  _ Grant’s voice tore Skye’s attention back to the screen.

_ “Oh yes, that. Like I said, I want you to act like nothing ever happened. Go back to that girlfriend of yours. But when we come back, I want you to drag her and that hellspawn she’s carrying to me. I can’t allow that thing to live. We’ll rip that thing right out of her.” _

Skye’s breakfast started to crawl its way up her throat, looking for a way out. Grant had been ordered to drag her to SHIELD. Her  _ and  _ their baby. And SHIELD was going to kill the baby as well, probably killing her as well in the process. 

_ “Skye?”  _ she heard Grant ask in a small voice.  _ “You want me to bring her to you?” _

_ “Is that insubordination, Agent Ward?”  _ Roswell asked with a frown.  _ “You can’t let feelings get in the way of a mission.” _

_ “No. It isn’t. I’ll bring her to you. And the…”  _ Grant trailed off slightly.  _ “The baby as well.” _

Roswell’s smile returned,  _ “Good. We’ll be back in a week.”  _ she began, turning back to her agents.  _ “We’ll rip this building apart. And you are the key piece to all of this, Agent Ward. Don’t fail me.” _

_ “I’ll do it. I’ll bring everyone to you.”  _

Skye didn’t know what happened next, because she immediately switched the feed off and ran from the room, hoping that Grant wouldn’t find her. She needed to let Coulson know now. Judging by the time frame, they had five days until SHIELD came back. Five days until Grant drug Coulson, her, and the baby to SHIELD’s feet. 

She didn’t know to how they could even help Grant now. SHIELD had brainwashed him and was controlling him. He was nowhere near himself, even though he was acting like nothing had ever happened. Hell, she wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t remember the mission. Would it kick in when SHIELD attacked in five days? But, she couldn’t risk anything. She needed to find a way out of here to protect herself and the baby. 

And to find a way to help Grant before it was too late.

She slipped into a closet and shakily pulled out the burner phone that Coulson had given them in case of an emergency, almost dropping it as she connected a call to Coulson and held it to her ear. Coulson answered after a few seconds.

_ “Skye, what’s-” _

“Grant’s brainwashed!” she blurted out, tears starting to fall from her eyes.  _ “He’s after you, me, and the baby! And he outed you as the traitor! SHIELD will be here in five days to take the Inhumans here!” _

She could hear Coulson choke on the other line. 

_ “Skye, slow down, what?” _

“Grant’s been acting strange lately. I hacked into video feed from where he raged after SHIELD framed him the other day. Reiss ambushed him with SHIELD agents. Grant killed Reiss in rage and some SHIELD agent named Roswell came out of nowhere. She said some strange words and suddenly Grant was obeying her. I-”

_ “Roswell? Shit. She’s the one that’s been parading the hunt for Grant. And those were activation words. They’re used to… They’re used to activate a victim’s programming. Skye, we need to get you, the baby, and even Max out of there. You can’t trust Grant right now. We… We’ll have to leave him behind.”  _ There was a strange lit to his voice. Like he was about to cry. Of course he was. Grant was the one person he cared about most. _ “He’s not on our side right now, even if it’s against his will. Skye, if that hold isn’t broken, he  _ will  _ kill us. SHIELD has him now. _

_ We have to leave him behind.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And an extra long chapter today since I'm going back to school and starting an internship soon, so I don't know how frequent updates will be. But I won't forget about this! Keep the comments and kudos coming! And don't worry, you'll see Coulson's true reaction next.


	27. I Heard the Devil Speak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson makes the plan to get Skye out.

“W-We’re just going to leave him behind?!” Skye choked out, trying to control herself before her powers ended up slipping out. That would probably give Grant a sign that something was up. “We can’t do that. We-”

_ “Skye, listen to me.”  _ Coulson cut in.  _ “He’s brainwashed and I’ve been outed to SHIELD as the traitor. There’s not much that we can do here. I’m having May reroute us to a safehouse that only I know about and I’m also having Fitz disable the trackers on the Bus so SHIELD can’t track us. We can’t help Grant right now. My biggest concern right now is to get you and the baby out of there before he can hurt the either of you. I know that’s what Grant would want.  _

_ He’s not himself right now. His sole mission is to bring you and the baby to Roswell and nothing will break through to that.”  _ Coulson continued gravely.  _ “We’ll have to leave him behind.” _

“Then how… How do we break him out of it?” Skye asked, clenching the phone tightly in her hand. “Is there a way?”

_ “I don’t have anything with me to break someone out of brainwashing.”  _ Coulson answered.  _ “The only way is either a sharp blow to the head, which doesn’t work a good bit of the time, or you have to put them in some kind of solitary confinement to allow the conditioning to break on its own. And that’s often messy. I wouldn’t want to do something like that to someone like Grant. He’s already not right in the head. That would just make him worse.” _

“Then… W-What do we do?”

_ “I’m coming tomorrow to pick you and Max up. Pack your things without letting Grant know. Him seeing you do so may make him act on his mission earlier than thought. I’ll act like I’m just coming to check on things. I’ll distract Grant and you get your things and Max and you get to the Bus as fast as possible.” _

“What about all of the Inhumans here?” Skye asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. “SHIELD’s coming in five days to round them all up. We… We can’t let that happen.”

_ “I’m gonna contact my men within SHIELD. I’ll have them come as soon as possible to ferry the Inhumans to a safer location. There’s only about 40 Inhumans in that base, including you and Grant. So, it’s not going to take much to have Hunter and Morse do what they need to do. I can’t let anyone die. I… I can’t believe that I didn’t think about brainwashing. It makes so much damn sense.” _

Skye heard Coulson swallow,  _ “That explains to why his mental state’s been fucked up even since those experiments.”  _ he continued.  _ “He just managed to get away before they could really activate his programming. But he’s a danger to everyone now, Skye. Including you and the baby. The only thing in his mind right now is the mission that Roswell gave him. He’ll stop at nothing to complete it. That’s why you need to get out of there as soon as possible. He doesn’t see the woman he loves in you. He doesn’t see his child. He only sees the mission. Nothing more, nothing less. Roswell is riding off of his intense loyalty, twisting it to her advantage. There’s nothing you can do for him at this point, Skye.” _

Skye swallowed and held back more tears, “So, what? I’m supposed to just leave him behind and just hope that he’ll somehow break out of the brainwashing? What if Roswell just kills him once I flee?”

_ “No, she won’t do that, Skye. She’s a woman of her word. If she wants you and the baby in her hands, she’ll make it happen. She’ll just make Grant keep pursuing you until he can find you. That’s why we need to get you into a safe place. But, please be careful until tomorrow. You can’t let Grant suspect a thing. Pack when he’s asleep. You have to get out of there without him knowing a thing.” _

“What… What do I do until then?”

_ “Act like nothing ever happened. Like I said, you can’t let him suspect a thing or he may act on his mission early.” _

Coulson ended the call and Skye wasn’t sure of what to do. She just stared at the burner phone in her hand. How was she supposed to act like nothing ever happened if Grant was being controlled to bring her and their baby straight into SHIELD’s claws?

She stood to her feet and took a deep breath to steady herself. No, she had to be brave for Grant’s sake. For her and their baby’s sake as well. If she was going to save the man she loved, she had to save herself first. She had to get out of here before things got worse.

She left the closet and tried to steady herself once again. She headed into a nearby bathroom and stared at her ragged complexion in the mirror. 

_ “Grant will definitely know that something’s up if he sees that I’ve been crying.”  _ she thought.  _ “I can’t….”  _ She trailed off, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. Very sick.

She rushed into one of the stalls, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Not caring that it was a toilet, she leaned her head on the seat, her stomach churning.  _ “What a  _ great  _ time to be causing morning sickness, little dude.”  _ she thought, moving a shaky hand to her stomach.  _ “But… But what’s going on definitely doesn’t help. God.” _

She continued to sit there for a while before suddenly standing up and brushing her hair back behind her ears after flushing the toilet. She couldn’t stay long. Grant would probably be up soon or he was already up, looking for her. At least she had a partial reason to why she look and felt like utter shit other than bawling her eyes out. 

_ “I can’t hide from him. If I hide right now, he’ll figure things out. Just… Just act like I never saw anything.”  _ she thought, starting to head back towards their room.  _ “But I have to pack sometime today. He usually goes to the makeshift gym later in the day, I can do that then and hide my stuff so he won’t find out. I’m sorry, Grant. Someday…. Someday you’ll understand.” _

She approached their room and headed in, finding Grant sitting on the edge of the bed with Max’s head perched on his lap. Grant shot up, Max as well, coming over to her and looking at her with concern. 

“Skye! What’s… What’s wrong?” he asked. “You look like shit.”

Skye swallowed, forcing herself to go along with him, “Yeah, baby’s been, uh, acting up. Already” she half-lied. “Been throwing up for the past while.”

Grant gently took her arm, causing her to flinch slightly. Well, maybe he wouldn’t do anything until he suspected something. So, she had to act like nothing was wrong.”

“Come on, you need to lay down or something. You look horrible.”

Skye pulled away from him, “I just need a shower and I’ll be fine.” she lied. “I just feel nasty.”

Grant looked at her oddly, like he was seeing right past her. But, he nodded, “Okay, I’ll go find you something to eat and drink.” he stated. “You need to rest. Do you need-”

“Grant, it’s morning sickness, not the stomach flu.” Skye stated firmly, cutting him off. “You better get used to this. You don’t have to be all over me like this. I appreciate it, though.” She turned towards the dresser that held her clothes, “I wouldn’t mind some crackers or something, though.”

Grant gave her a soft smile and nodded slightly, “Okay. I’ll go see what I can find. Max, you stay with her.” he replied, heading out of the room and leaving her with Max.

A slight sob wracked Skye’s body again and she tried to steady herself once more so her powers wouldn’t slip out. She kneeled down next to Max, smiling ever so slightly as the shepherd licked her face. “We’ve gotta get out of here, buddy.” she whispered. “Grant isn’t himself. He’s far from himself. We can’t stay here. Coulson’s going to help us.”

Skye leaned back to look at the black dog, seeing that he was just staring at her, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. “Of course you have no damn idea of what I’m saying. You have no idea of what’s going on.” she ruffled the fluff on the top of his head. “I wish I was like that. I wish I had no idea of what’s going on.”

She swallowed and looked towards the door, placing a gentle hand on her stomach, “I don’t even know if we’ll make it out of this alive, little dude.” she whispered. She had recently resorted to calling the baby ‘little dude’ because she was adamant about it being a boy. A little version of Grant. With his jet-black hair, whiskey-colored eyes, and sharp cheekbones. Another sob escaped her lips as she thought towards the future. 

The future that probably would never come to be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, will this plan work or not? You'll just have to see. (Any ideas of what's to come?) Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	28. Judgement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye makes a break for it.

(The Next Day)

Skye had made quick and quiet work of packing up her and Max’s things and hiding them so Grant wouldn’t come across them. There was still no telling to what Grant would do if he knew that she was trying to run. Coulson had told her that Grant was not himself right now, so there was no telling to what he could be capable of right now. She needed to make sure that she got to the Bus without Grant knowing.

But, what would happen once she left and Grant figured things out? How would his brainwashing react? She feared for everyone within the base, not knowing of what would happen once she left. Coulson had said that he was going to try his best to get the Inhumans to a different location before SHIELD came back for them. But, could he really do such an endeavor? Or would there be sacrifices made in order to save just a few? How much would they lose in order to get what they wanted?

For now, Skye sat nervously with Max at her feet, waiting for Coulson to show up. Now, Skye wasn’t sure to  _ how  _ she would get to the Bus without Grant seeing her. He would probably know that something was up as soon as Coulson stepped back into the base. Skye had to find a way to get to her bags and get her and Max out of the building unseen. She didn’t know what Grant’s brainwashing could make him do if he sensed that something was about to make his mission go wrong. She had to plan this carefully.

Coulson had said that he would be there sometime before noon and it was already ten. Skye wanted him to hurry up and come so she could get away from Grant before it was too late. She still had trouble wrapping her head around the fact that she was now running from the man that she loved. The man that was the father of her unborn child. But, she knew that none of this was Grant’s fault. Grant couldn’t help that SHIELD had played with his brain, stuffing it inside of a blender and shoving it back inside of his skull. He wasn’t at fault for anything he was about to do under SHIELD’s orders. Skye just hoped that they could break him out of it without breaking him even more. Coulson said that breaking someone out of brainwashing was messy. 

Skye was torn out of her thoughts as the door to the room opened and Grant walked in, staring straight at her. There was something strange in his eyes that Skye could not quite pinpoint, something that scared her. It was like he was analyzing her, like a predator sizing up its prey. 

She swallowed and tried her best to smile at him, “Why are you staring?” she asked, trying to push her fear down. “See something you like?”

Grant blinked at her, “You’ve been acting funny lately.” he began, still staring at her. “And it’s not just the baby. What’s going on?”

Skye’s heart skipped a beat. She could tell that Grant knew that something was up, but he didn’t know to what it was. And she knew that he would tear the truth out of her if she wasn’t careful. Grant had been a top class SHIELD agent for a reason. He was lethal, sharp-tongued. He could talk his way out of any situation or get someone to confess all of their sins. And she feared that he knew just how to play her. 

“I’ve been having nightmares.” she answered, lying straight through her teeth. “I haven’t been able to sleep well and it’s gotten me kind of panicky. We’re in a bad situation, Grant. I can’t always be calm.”

Grant kept staring at her, not a lick of emotion on his face at all. It was like he was a robot, the programming inside of his brain trying to process what to do next. “Then try to sleep.” he stated. “A nap wouldn’t hurt.”

Skye shook her head as her phone buzzed lightly in her pocket. “That’s not going to help, Grant.” she answered. “Not here.” She pulled out her burner phone and saw that it was a message from Coulson.

_ “We’re here. Waiting outside. I’m coming in to check things. Maybe can distract Grant. Need you out. Fast.” _

Skye swallowed and deleted the message just as Grant took a step towards her.

“Who’s that?”

“Coulson. He just wanted to know how I was doing. I told him yesterday that I was starting to get morning sickness.” she lied. “That’s all.”

Grant eyed the phone, something burning in his eyes as he did so. But he didn’t say a single word.

“He’s here.” Skye continued. “He just wants to check on a few things considering that you were framed as a terrorist by SHIELD. He just wants to make sure that you’re alright.”

“I’m fine.” Grant stated coldly. “I don’t need anyone checking up on me. I….” He trailed off as Roswell’s orders suddenly flashed across his mind. He blinked and looked back at her, “You know what? I guess that it wouldn’t hurt to talk to him. Try to catch up.”

The cold, predator-like look in Grant’s eyes chilled Skye to the core.  _ “Shit. I think he’s already acting on his orders because Coulson’s here. If I’m not careful, he’ll try to attack Coulson to bring him to that Roswell lady. I can’t have this.”  _ she thought, standing to her feet.  _ “I’ve got to be careful. Maybe Coulson will have at least May or Triplett with him. That will give him some time. I don’t think Grant would act with so many here. He just wants Coulson and Coulson alone, right?” _

Skye took a sharp breath, “Come on. Let’s go meet him.” she stated, walking past him, Max on her heels “He just wants to check in with things, Grant. I don’t know why you’re acting so funny.”

Grant followed Skye out of the room, staring at the back of her head. He didn’t say a word. They walked in silence as they walked towards the entrance of the base. He stopped cold in his tracks as they found Coulson along with 2 people he had never seen before standing outside.

Coulson smiled at Skye, trying not to show fear towards Grant. Yes, he was afraid of the man right now. He wasn’t himself, so there was no telling to what he could do. But, he needed to play it cool until he got Skye to safety. 

“Who’s this?” Skye asked, looking at the two people. A tall, blonde-haired woman and a brown-haired man.

“Grant, Skye, this is Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter. My men within SHIELD.” Coulson answered. “They’re helping me with something for the time being, so they’ll be on the Bus with me and the others for a while.”

Skye smiled at them and Grant just stared blankly. 

Bobbi stepped towards them, a small smile on her face as Hunter nodded at them, “It’s nice to actually meet you.” she stated, glancing nervously at Grant out of the corner of her eye. Of course, she had heard all about the great Grant Ward, especially before SHIELD had betrayed him. She knew that he was powerful, and it didn’t help that he was being controlled now. She wondered if Coulson’s plan of getting the girl out of here was going to work.

“It’s, uh, nice to meet you, too.” Skye said in response. She looked nervously over her shoulder, “I… I need to use the bathroom.” She placed a hand on her stomach, “Baby’s messing with me.”

Grant stepped forward, “I’ll go with you.” he stated. “I,”

“Grant, I want you here.” Coulson cut in. “We need to talk about a few things, okay? Skye will be okay. It’s just a little morning sickness.”

“I’ll go with her.” Bobbi stated. “I want to look around the base anyways. Hunter, you stay here with them.”

“But,” Hunter began, but a look from Bobbi silenced them. 

Skye looked towards Grant, “Grant, stay for whatever Coulson wants. You two probably need to talk anyways.” she stated. “I’ll be right back.”

Grant stayed silent and only looked at her. 

Skye swallowed and quickly headed back inside, both Bobbi and Max following her. Once they were in the building and away from Grant, Skye stopped and turned to look at Bobbi, “You’re here to help me get out, aren’t you.” she stated. Not a question.

Bobbi nodded slowly, “Coulson figured that he needed some help in this.” she answered. “Having someone like Ward brainwashed is a problem.” She looked at her, her eyes drifting down to Skye’s belly, “SHIELD is terrible. For them to do something so cruel to one of their own is something else. And then there’s the fact that they’re going to try and kill an unborn baby by tearing it from its mother unwillingly. SHIELD’s gone too far. We need you out of here so we can move these Inhumans somewhere else before SHIELD can slaughter them.”

Skye looked down, “I need to get my bags.” she stated. “It’s got my stuff and Max’s. How are we going to get out of here without Grant seeing us? I don’t know how he’ll react if he sees me running. He’s programmed to bring me and the baby in at all costs. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went berserk and tried to kill me.”

“We parked in a hidden area. The SUV, not the Bus.” Bobbi began as Skye started walking again. “Coulson figured that it was best if we didn’t come roaring in on a huge plan.”

“I just want a way for Grant to get out of this, you know.” Skye continued. “But, I’m afraid that he won’t come out of it. He’s been brainwashed for over a year. There’s no telling to what that’s done to him.”

“Breaking someone out of brainwashing is rough, I’ll say that.” Bobbi stopped as Skye approached a small closet. “It’ll more than likely be tough on someone like Ward since he was already in an unstable mental state. He may not be the same, I’m afraid.”

Skye took a sharp breath as she opened the closet and grabbed two black bags out of it, “I just want him back. I just want him to be here for the baby like I know he wants to be.” she stated. “Even if it takes moving Heaven and Earth to get him back, I’m going to get him back.”

“Don’t risk yourself doing something you know that you can’t do, Skye. Ward’s in SHIELD’s hands right now. There is no way that it’s a one man job.”

“Whatever it takes, I’m going to do it. I want him back before it’s too late.” Skye almost hissed, walking past Bobbi. “I don’t care what I have to do.”

Bobbi stepped in front of her, “Skye, I…” She shook her head, “We’re going to try our best to get him back, but you don’t need to be putting yourself in danger like this. You,”

“Is it because I’m pregnant?” Skye cut it, spinning around to glare at the woman. “Is that it? Because that doesn’t mean I’m helpless. I have powers for God’s sakes. I-”

“It’s because the baby is exactly what SHIELD wants.” Bobbi deadpanned. “If you intend on keeping that baby safe, then you need to hide. Throwing yourself into the fire isn’t going to help a thing. Not a single thing. We’ll get Ward back, Skye. But sacrificing yourself isn’t going to do a thing. Okay?”

Skye looked away and began to walk off, “I just don’t want him alone, you know.” she stated softly, letting Bobbi take the lead. “I don’t like the idea of just sitting back and doing nothing while SHIELD is doing hell knows what to him.”

“I understand that. Doing everything you can to protect the person that you love. But, there are sometimes when you need to let others take charge. We’ll find a way to get him back. But, there are other priorities first. SHIELD finds Ward useful, so they’ll use him for a while. We have time.”

“I hope so.”

Bobbi led Skye out a side door, away from where Grant had been. She led her quite a ways from the base, sending a message to Hunter that they were ready. They came to a black SUV hidden within the treeline.

“Coulson and Hunter are coming.” Bobbi stated as Skye put her bags up and got Max into the car. “I don’t know what they’re doing with Ward, but…” She trailed off as she heard a scream. One that sounded full of anger. She looked back towards the base, seeing two figures run towards them. 

Skye’s face fell as the scream rang out again and she knew to just who it was. Grant. The same exact scream she had heard from that surveillance footage from where he had raged. 

“Get in the fucking car!” she heard Coulson scream. “Now!” Skye could make out a flaming mass in the distance.

Skye didn’t think twice to throw herself into the backseat of the car as Bobbi got into the driver’s seat to start the car up. Her blood grew cold as she could hear Grant scream at Coulson and Hunter.

“I’ll kill you!” he screamed. “Bring her back! You have no right to take her away from me! I’ll have your head you fucking traitor!”

The car doors slammed as Coulson and Hunter jumped in and Coulson yelled at Bobbi to step on the gas. The SUV lurched forward as Bobbi began to speed away, hoping that she could outrace a flame-powered super Inhuman. 

Skye looked towards Coulson for an answer. 

“He found us out.” Coulson panted. “I don’t know how, but he did. I… I think SHIELD did way more to him than we think. 

They created a devil and those Inhumans are doomed if we don’t get them out of there soon.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Skye is away from Grant, but Grant's brainwashing is starting to activate again. The real test now is if they can get the Inhumans out of the base before it's too late. Any guesses on what's going to happen? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	29. What Are We Fighting For?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson and May talk.

(Later That Night)

Coulson bit his lip, staring at the closed door to the pod, hearing Skye’s muffled sobs behind it. She had been locked in there ever since they had managed to get the Bus in the air, getting away from the deranged Grant. Well, deranged was the best term that Coulson could use at this point. There really was no other term for what SHIELD had done to him. For what they had turned him into. All Grant was now was nothing but a thoughtless demon, being controlled like a marionette doll.

And, honestly, he wasn’t sure of how to get Grant back. He was sure that the conventional methods of breaking him out of the brainwashing would only break him more. And there was still no telling to what all SHIELD had done to him. It was clear that SHIELD wanted to turn him into their very own soldier, but all they had gotten was a demon in the end. A demon whose powers had no end. 

“Is she still crying?”

Coulson looked up and turned around to see May walking up, “Yes.” he answered lightly, turning back to look at the closed door, the windows to the pod tinted to where he couldn’t see in. He figured that he should at least give her some privacy. “And she hasn’t stopped.”

“Do you really blame her?” May asked, listening to Skye’s quiet sobs. “Everything’s falling apart around her. SHIELD wants her head. She’s carrying a child that the government thinks is some kind of hellspawn. The man she loves has been brainwashed and is currently trying to kill us.” She swallowed, “We didn’t plan for any of this to happen.”

Coulson ran a hand through his hair, “Of course we didn’t. I-I would’ve never thought that Grant had been brainwashed.” he stammered. “This…. This destroys all of our plans. We need to shift our focus. Finding a way to rescue Grant is the main priority right now. We can’t take down SHIELD without him. He was the key in this all along. I knew that he had enough rage to take down the entire organization. But this…. This changes everything.”

“He’s never been mentally stable, Coulson. What makes you think he’ll be sane after this?” May kept her gaze off of Coulson. “And it’s clear that they’ve used some powerful brainwashing and God knows what else on him.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t know what SHIELD did to him. SHIELD experiments on Inhumans, but I just thought it was to test their abilities. But, they’ve clearly been doing way more than that. Grant didn’t use to be like this.” Coulson continued. “They did more to him than we can fathom. I know that they were turning him into a weapon, making him and his powers stronger than they already were. But, what did they  _ do  _ to him? That’s what I want to know.”

“Fitz and Morse are looking into his files.” May stated. “Perhaps they can pull enough that can give us an answer. Even if we can’t undo what SHIELD did to Ward, we can still pull him out of the control before it’s too late. SHIELD acts in a few days. We don’t have much time left to get those Inhumans out of there. And we’re not even sure if SHIELD is monitoring that base or not. If they were monitoring it and they know that we took Skye out of there and that we know what’s going on, they may act soon. Or Grant’s programming will do it for them.”

Coulson swallowed, “I… I don’t have anywhere else to take the Inhumans, May. Not now.” he admitted. “I know that I said I would have Hunter and Morse ferry them somewhere else. But…” He looked up at her, “The other base fell this morning. I was too caught up in getting Skye to safety that I found out about it too late. About 45 Inhumans were at the other base. And SHIELD killed them all. That was the only other safehouse I had. And it’s gone.”

May’s face went pale, “So you’re saying…”

“There’s nowhere for those Inhumans to go. They’re like sitting ducks. I have nowhere to move them to, May.” Coulson’s eyes glassed over. “I don’t know what to do. Everything’s falling apart so fucking fast and I have no idea of how to put it back together. I just wanted to make a difference. I just wanted to change things so SHIELD would stop their genocide campaign. But all I got was shit in the end. 

The man I see as my own son is currently SHIELD’s puppet.” he continued. “Inhumans are dying left and right and there’s nothing I can do about it. Everything’s going to shit and I don’t know what to do. And there’s nothing that we  _ can  _ do at this point. SHIELD always has the upper-hand. I just need to figure out something. I-”

He stopped as May suddenly put a hand on his shoulder, “Phil. It’s not up to you to save the entire world.” she stated. “One man alone cannot achieve such a thing. We’ll all figure this out. Together. But, you need to rest first. I don’t think you’ve slept since the other night. You’re running on fumes.”

Coulson shook his head, “No. I need to figure out what to do with the Inhumans. I-”

“Phil. I’ll come up with something. I’ll go talk with Morse and Hunter to see what they have in mind. We have to work together if any of this is going to work. But, that starts with you stepping back for a bit and taking some kind of a break.” May turned around. “We don’t need you out of commission if you keep up like this.”

Coulson blinked as May walked away, knowing that she was right. He needed to rest for a while, despite everything that was going on. But, he needed to find a way to protect those Inhumans. He needed to find a way to get Grant back. But, he wasn’t sure of how to do the either of them. Truly, he was at a loss at this point in time.

He turned away from the pod, hearing that Skye’s sobs had stopped. She probably had cried herself to sleep. 

_ “I don’t know what to do.”  _ Coulson thought as he began to walk back to the main area of the plane.  _ “I have no idea of what SHIELD did to Grant. I fear that there’s more than just brainwashing making him act the way he is. What did they do to him to make him stronger? There’s something that SHIELD’s hiding behind those fucking doors of theirs. I’ve figured that they’re wanting to make an army. But why? SHIELD’s already strong enough, why would they need an army of super-powered soldiers? Something’s not adding up.  _

_ What the hell is Ainsley planing? That man’s always been off of his rocker, but something’s not right. Why would SHIELD need such an army? They get rid of the one thing they fear, either killing or enslaving them. They grow in power by creating soldiers such as Grant. They label anyone that goes against them a criminal and a traitor. They already have control of the American government. They-” _

Coulson’s stomach flipped and he stopped in his tracks right outside the galley as a horrifying, but possible, thought hit him like a ton of bricks. There was only one plausible reason to why SHIELD was doing all of this. And it chilled him right to the bone.

_ “They’re doing this to create an army. Ainsley wants SHIELD to be the most powerful in the world. I… I think he wants to have complete control. _

_ He’s doing this to take over the world.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a quieter and shorter chapter. Mainly as a buffer as I plan out what to write next, but there's still a good bit revealed here. What will happen next? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	30. And We All Find Artificial Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson comes up with a plan.

(The Next Morning)

Coulson looked up as Fitz came into the office, a file in his hands. Judging by the grim expression on the engineer’s face, Fitz had something dire to report. “What is it, Fitz?” he asked, his eyes going to the file. “You’ve found something, haven’t you?”

Fitz nodded, “Morse had one of her SHIELD contacts manage to dig into Ward’s files and pulled up every last bit of information they had on him.” he answered. “Morse is busy trying to come up with a way to get those Inhumans out of the base, considering we only have 3 days left to do so. So, she sent me in here.” He walked up to Coulson’s desk, placing the thick file down on the surface.

Coulson eyed it, “Does it tell us why they brainwashed him?” he asked. “Or how?”

“Yeah. Every last detail. I don’t know what Morse’s contact had to do in order to get such high-level stuff, but it’s a lot. Down to the way they brainwashed him.”

Coulson held his breath, staring down at the file, “You know, Fitz. I’m afraid. Even though I want to help Grant, I’m afraid to know what SHIELD did to him. He became so brutal and cold recently, I don’t think it was just the brainwashing doing that to him.”

Fitz swallowed, “You…. You’ll find out, sir.” he stated. “What they did to Ward was an entire project, like you feared. But, he was the only survivor, hence why they were so determined to capture him again. And they were definitely the ones behind the Georgia attack. They were looking for something to further break his mind so the reprogramming would be easier.”

“Better now than never, I guess.” Coulson stated, opening the file. He skimmed past all of the background information, he already knew all of that considering he had been the one to bring Grant in. He stopped once he landed on a page marked ‘Project Crosswire’. He frowned. It was such a strange name for a project such as what he feared it was. But it made since. If SHIELD was creating mindless soldiers out of Inhumans, they needed a name that didn’t give it away. 

Turning the page, Coulson found a collection of subject dossiers. All marked as ‘deceased’. All but one.

He flipped to the one marked ‘Subject 014 - Hellfire’, holding his breath as he did so. Did he really want to know to what SHIELD had put Grant through? Yes, Coulson did want to find a way to help him, but he wanted to be spared the details. So, he dove right in.

_ “Subject name: Ward, Grant Douglas. DOB: 1/07/83; Salem, Massachusetts. Species: Inhuman. Abilities: high-level pyrogenesis/kinesis, rapid healing/regeneration.  _

_ Procedure: Subject was brought to Science Base Charlie after being imprisoned at Tartarus for two (2) days. Infusions of the Inhuman Enhancement Serum (see notes 2.1) began immediately. Subject showed impressive strength and stamina development after just one (1) day. After two (2) days, subject’s already-present regenerative factor improved 2x. On day four (4), subject was placed into the memory suppression machine for brainwashing attempt, which proved successful at first. Unfortunately on day seven (7), subject broke through control and escaped Science Base Charlie, burning down the base in the process.  _

_ Note: As of 2/20/2015, subject is back in SHIELD custody and under control.  _

_ Note 1.2: Subject’s activation words are (in order):  _ _ Infernal. Ember. Brimstone. Gehenna. Damnation. Ignition. Obsidian. Hellfire. _

_ Note 1.3: Memory suppression machine has seemed to create unforeseen side effects. Subject presents mild psychosis, memory loss/lapses, and emotional processing issues. Handle subject with care in case there is a programming lapse….” _

Coulson stopped there, not wanting to read anymore.

“Memory suppression machine.” Coulson stated, forcing his words out. “The very thing that Hydra used on Bucky Barnes to turn him into the Winter Soldier. I think the current model can fully manipulate memories. That’s why Grant doesn’t know what SHIELD did to him. He thought me as an enemy when I tried to break him out of Tartarus, so that’s probably a reason. There’s no telling to what else they did to his head, or what he believes at this point. 

SHIELD will probably turn his memories against him, making him believe that we’re his enemies.” he continued. “I’m… I’m not sure if there’s a proper way to break him out of it or not.”

Fitz bit his lip, “There… There has to be. Didn’t Captain America manage to get Barnes out of Hydra’s control?” he asked. “So, there has to be a way to get Ward out of it.”

“Perhaps. It’ll just take moving Heaven and Earth in order to do so….” Coulson trailed off. “This is definitely to create an army.”

“Other files said that it was to create an army that no one could beat.” Fitz stated. “To the rest of the government, it looks like a project to repurpose Inhuman prisoners into soldiers that can go into conditions that a human soldier can’t. But, Ainsley really wants the ultimate military power. Coulson, you were right about him wanting control of the world. He’s doing so by building an army that no one else would want to fight.”

Coulson looked down, trying to wrap his head around everything, “How’s Skye?” he asked, changing the subject as he started to feel sick to his stomach. “How’s she handling things?”

Fitz shook his head, knowing that Coulson didn’t want to talk about the Project anymore. “She won’t come out of the Pod. Simmons and Morse managed to give her and the baby a check-up. She’s fine physically, but far from it emotionally.”

“That’s… That’s what I expected.” Coulson ran a hand through his hair. “She just lost everything and could lose even more if we can’t find a way to get Grant back. Fitz, Grant probably can’t make the connection right now that the baby is his. He probably doesn’t remember it. When Roswell reactivated his programming, it suppressed the memories he has of us. He only sees us as his targets.” He looked away, “SHIELD has manipulated him into into believing that the woman he loves and their child are his targets. Right now, he doesn’t see Skye. He doesn’t see his son or daughter. He sees a mission. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Then… What are we going to do?” Fitz crossed his arms. “We’re outnumbered 100 to 1 and we’ve lost our best fighter.”

An idea crossed Coulson’s mind. He knew that it was risky, considering that no one had heard from half of them in a while. Not since before SHIELD’s downfall. He still had contact with a few of them. He hoped that contacting one of them would lead him to the rest.

“I’m going to contact someone.” he answered. “It’s risky, but if we can get them on our side, it may just work. We need enough support in order to bring Ainsley into the limelight and deal with the monster that Grant currently is. I’ve run out of options at this point.”

Fitz looked away, “I hope it works.” he stated, leaving the room without another word. Not even Fitz had the energy to motivation to really hope nowadays. 

Coulson took a deep breath and opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out an old burner phone, “I don’t know if she even still has the contact phone I gave her.” he mumbled to himself. “Hopefully she’s with Barton. Hell, if we can get Stark into this, it may just work.” He pressed a few buttons on the phone and brought it to his ear.

After a minute of ringing, a muffled voice came on the other line.

_ “Hello?” _

The smallest of smiles pulled at Coulson’s lips. The first in a while.

“Romanoff? It’s Coulson. We need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some certain characters are being brought in to help with getting Grant back and saving the Inhumans of the base. Will it work? Stay tuned to find out! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	31. This World That I Deserve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somewhat of a plan is made.

(Later That Night)

Coulson held his breath and looked up as the Bus shook, signalling that a jet had docked. He was glad that Natasha had agreed to help, only because she disagreed with Ainsley’s beliefs and owed a debt to Coulson. But, he was surprised at just how fast she had showed up. 

“I hope that’s Romanoff.” May stated, walking up to Coulson. “But if it were SHIELD, we wouldn’t even be alive right now. SHIELD would’ve shot us out of the sky five minutes ago.”

“Romanoff and the other Avengers’ help is our last shot. She called me back on the way here, said that Stark was in on it as well. I don’t know how he intends to help, but it’s still more than we had.” he stated. “That’s all she said, though. I don’t know who else is helping. She didn’t say much.”

A door slid open and the two agents looked to see none other than Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton coming down the spiral staircase that led from the roof. Romanoff gave Coulson a soft smile as she reached the landing.

“You didn’t think that we would meet again like this.” she stated. “Neither did I. I tried to distance myself from SHIELD once Fury was out, but enough standing by and doing nothing as innocent people die.”

May blinked, “I take it that you have a plan.”

Clint nodded, fiddling with his hearing aids, “Yep. Nat, tell them all about it.”

“Stark’s the main planner behind this. He and Banner are back at Avengers Tower coordinating with Wanda, Vision, and a few others back at the New Avengers facility.” Natasha began. “The plan is to take the Inhumans to shelter at the facility. SHIELD can’t touch them there.”

“Then what about Ward?” Coulson asked, crossing his arms. “How do we approach that?”

“Stark said that he had something in mind, but didn’t elaborate on it.” she answered. “But, we first have to manage to fight him and knock him out first. He’s a super-powered weapon with no mind of his own right now. I’ve worked with him. He was terrifying when he didn’t have powers. I hate to see how he is now.”

Coulson swallowed, “Trust me, you don’t want to.” he stated. “But, I have Fitz working on a more-powerful inhibitor cuff that will render him powerless. We just need to find a way to get close to him, which is going to be near impossible. Right now, Grant’s like a flame-powered Hulk without all of the muscle. I feel like moving the Inhumans will be the least of our worries.”

Natasha looked around, “So, where’s the girl you mentioned?” she asked. “She’s safe, right?”

“As safe as she’s going to be.” May stated. “She won’t come out of the pod we turned into a room for them. She’s depressed. Scared. And I don’t blame her. There’s no telling what Ward would do under SHIELD’s control. We need to clear all of this up fast before it’s too late. SHIELD has a monster on their hands and I wouldn’t put it past them to exploit the hell out of him. We only have three days until this goes all to hell, I say that we deal with this soon.”

Coulson nodded once more, motioning for the two ex-agents to follow them into the holocom room, “SHIELD attacks that base three days from now.” he paused and looked at May. “May, go ahead and set a course for the base.” he stated. “We can’t waste any time here. Clint, Nat, we’ll come up with a solid plan and then I’ll call everyone else to fill them in.”

May nodded back and left the room, heading towards the cockpit. 

“Now, you said that you don’t know what Stark’s doing.” Coulson began, turning back to look at Natasha. “So, how do we approach this?”

“Stark has a plan. That’s all that I know.” Natasha answered. “But, I say that you get a small team together and gather the Inhumans. Another small team will confront Ward. But, I’m afraid that we’ll need more firepower when it comes to him. He won’t go down without a fight. SHIELD is exploiting his belligerent nature. And with what they did to him….” She trailed off and shook her head, “It’ll be bad. You say that they created a devil, but I believe that you’re right. This is what Ainsley wants. An unstoppable army and Ward’s the first step. He’s the key to creating more like him. That’s one reason to why we need to get him back. 

SHIELD is looking to destroy the only resistance by killing you, Coulson.” she continued. “They know if you fall, all chance of an actual resistance standing against them is gone. You may have the power of the Avengers on your side, but it’s a government’s word against yours. This’ll be tough.”

Coulson chewed at his lip, an idea flashing across his mind, “Wait, I have an idea. Stark’s got power and influence.” he began. “Let’s say that he accidently leaked to the world what SHIELD is doing. It’s not common knowledge that they’re rounding up Inhumans and all but killing them. I know Inhumans are widely feared, but there has to be a line that is drawn somewhere or another.”

Natasha shrugged, “There are many people like Ainsley.” she stated. “It make work, but there’s no promises. Many do fear the Inhumans. Some may think that it’s justified for some God forsaken reason or another.”

“Yeah, but many would think it’s inhumane and illegal.” Clint stated, crossing his arms. “Even if people do agree with SHIELD, there will be those that don’t. And they’ll rise up and fight back. A bigger resistance is what we need.People aren’t gonna agree with an organization that brainwashes and experiments on their own and also tries to rip unborn children from their mothers.”

“First things first, though. Grant and the Inhumans of that base are our priority right now.” Coulson stated. “There isn’t much we can do now without knowing what Stark is planning. We just have to hope that it’ll be enough.”

“It’s Stark, I’m sure that it’ll be over-the-top in some way or another.”

Coulson looked away, “This all has been going on for far too long.” he mumbled. “I don’t want to lose Grant. I thought that I had finally gotten him back, but I had no idea of what SHIELD had really done to him. This can’t happen to anyone else. No one else needs to die. I know that it’s not going to be a quick fix, but it’s gotta start somewhere or another. We just have to-”

“Are you really going to get Grant back?”

Coulson’s stomach fell and he looked to the doorway of the holocom room to see Skye standing there, an arm around her abdomen. Her hair was ragged and heavy bags hung underneath her eyes. In all honesty, she looked terrible. But, Coulson couldn’t blame her. She was terrified. Terrified for 3 different people. Terrified for Grant. Terrified for their child. Terrified for herself. All 3 of them were in danger and all of that fear weighed heavily on her shoulders.

“Skye…”

“I saw him, Coulson. He wasn’t himself.” Skye stated, walking into the room. “I had no clue of who that was. He’s dangerous.” She looked towards Natasha and Clint. Normally, she would be beyond excited to see two Avengers, but now wasn’t the time. “How do you plan on fighting him? He’s… I-I don’t know how to explain him. I just don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

Natasha took a sharp breath and muttered underneath her breath in Russian, “I’ll be blunt with you, we have no idea of how to approach this.” she stated softly. “There’s so much against us here. We’ll try our best, but we don’t know how it’ll end. We have to get the Inhumans out before Ward realizes what is happening. There is no telling to what SHIELD’s programming will make him do. We have to avoid a slaughter.”

“Then let me go.”

Coulson’s face fell, “Huh? No! We can’t risk it, Skye!” he exclaimed, taking a step towards her. “His mission is to bring you in, remember? He won’t spare you, Skye. Not now. You can’t go near him. You-”

“And the last time I checked, I’m under no one’s orders.” Skye cut him off angrily. “I don’t want to sit back and do nothing while everything goes to utter shit. I want to do  _ something. _ ”

“But the baby.”

“I’m only like a month pregnant, Coulson. It’s not holding me back right now. You’re acting like I’m fragile, when I’m clearly not.” Skye looked away. “I want to help him.”

“Skye.” Natasha looked towards Clint before taking a step towards Skye. “Coulson isn’t saying that you’re fragile. It’s you against a brainwashed super soldier. Right now, Ward doesn’t see you. He just sees a target. That’s how powerful brainwashing is.” She swallowed, thinking of Bucky. “He doesn’t see his child either. You are his target and he’ll stop at nothing to accomplish his mission. It’s too dangerous for anyone. That’s why we’re calling in so much back-up. No one can do this alone.”

Skye looked down to the ground, “Then, I… I still want to help. Somehow. I don’t want to leave him alone.” She looked back up, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes, “Please.”

Coulson blinked and remained silent for a few, not sure of what to say. He knew that there would be no changing Skye’s mind at all. But, he didn’t want her getting hurt. “Fine. But, you have to be with someone at all times. At least with Triplett. Or Morse and Hunter. You cannot be alone. If you think you’re in trouble. Run and hide. Call for help. Don’t try to confront something on your own. And please. Do not approach Ward. Stay away from him until we can deal with him. 

He’s not the man you love right now.” he continued. “Please, don’t throw yourself at him.

I wouldn’t put past him to kill you. As of right now, he is nothing more than SHIELD’s devil. And we won’t stop at nothing to get rid of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so a semi-plan is made which all depends on whatever Stark is planning to do. We're getting to the climax here. Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	32. Ghost in the Shell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson tells Skye some bad news.

(Early the Next Morning)

The Bus touched down in a small field not too far from the safehouse. Coulson didn’t want to risk alerting Grant to their presence, especially since he wasn’t sure of when Stark’s back-up would be here. He turned towards everyone, not wanting to move just yet. He wanted to make sure that everyone knew of just what they were doing. 

“Barton, you stay behind and watch over Fitzsimmons.” he began. “You three will monitor SHIELD comms and let us know if SHIELD somehow gets notified of what we are doing. Romanoff, you will go with Hunter and Morse to try to start funneling the Inhumans to a safe place until Stark’s back-up does arrive.” He looked towards May, Trip, and Skye, “And the four of us will go after Ward.”

“Should we really be going after Ward like this?” Trip asked. “We’re practically powerless against him, even if Skye does happen to have powers. He’s a brainwashed soldier at this point. And an enhanced Inhuman as well. Do we really want to fight him?”

Coulson swallowed, “I have a, uh, plan of sorts.” he stated. “I want to try to get through to him if possible before we start fighting against him. Like I said, I don’t know to what Stark is planning to do. We at least need to get Ward unconscious so we can transport him to some kind of cell or something for his own safety.”

“You know,” Clint began. “I think that Stark has a room back at that tower of his in case Banner starts having a freakout. If it’s designed well enough to hold the Hulk, do you think it can hold a raging super Inhuman? Or Stark could make quick redesigns for it.”

Coulson nodded, “That may work if Stark will be willing to harbor Ward there.” he answered. “He’s under strong programming. I know that it’s probably all in vain to try and get through to him, but it doesn’t hurt to try. It’ll still probably take going to hell and back to safely pull him out of it.” He casted a quick glance towards Skye, “But, we also need to make sure that the Inhumans get the hell out of here. I can’t let any more people die. If we distract Ward long enough, we may just be able to pull that off. It’s going to take a lot of work, though.”

Natasha nodded, “It’s definitely a messy plan, but we have no other choice.” she stated. “We’ve got 2 days until SHIELD shows back up. We need this done now.”

“Then go ahead and get ready.” Coulson stated with yet another nod. “As soon as everyone’s ready, we’ll head off to do what we need to do.” He looked towards Skye, “But, Skye, I need to talk to you first. Privately.”

Skye frowned as her stomach fell, “What’s, uh, going on?”

“I will tell you once we’re upstairs.” Coulson walked past her and motioned for her to follow him, which Skye did without another word.

Coulson closed the door to the cargo bay once they were in the gallery and he turned to face her once they were far enough from the door, “Skye, I need to admit something to you.” he began. “I’ve… I’ve been lying to you for the past few days.”

Skye blinked, “What?” She shook her head, “What the hell do you mean?”

He swallowed, not sure of how to approach this. He hadn’t wanted to admit it, because he knew how much it would break Skye, but he knew that he should say it before it was too late.

“I’ve been acting like things will be okay once we have Grant back and he’s out of SHIELD’s control, but… But, that’s far from the truth.” he admitted. “Very far from the truth.”

“What… What do you mean?” she repeated, fear and worry starting to seep its way into her voice. She instinctively placed a hand over her stomach. 

“Grant’s been under SHIELD’s programming for over a year now, Skye. Once that’s broken and we get him back, there’s a high chance that he won’t remember this past year.” Coulson took a deep breath to steady himself, “Skye… He may not remember you or the baby. You will be like a total stranger to him once this is over. This past year won’t exist in his mind at all.”

Skye’s stomach turned to ice and it felt as though her knees would give out at any second, “Y-You’re kidding.” she stammered. “Please tell me that you’re lying.”

Coulson slowly shook his head, not what she had wanted to see, “I’m not.” he answered softly. “Even if he wasn’t completely under SHIELD’s control for this past year, the programming is still there. Erasing it will more than likely reset his memories to the day that the scientists brainwashed him.”

“So…” Skye trailed off, fighting for the right words. What was she supposed to say? There was a strong chance that Grant wouldn’t remember her or their unborn child at all. “So, all of this… What all has happened between the two of us will mean absolutely nothing to him?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Is there a way around this at all?”

“Unless Stark can quickly come up with a solution, then no.”

“S-Shit.”

Coulson drug a hand down his face, “I didn’t want to tell you this, Skye. But, I knew I should say something before you realized that he has no clue to who you are.” he stated. “But, I suppose that losing his memories is better than staying under SHIELD’s control. You, and us, will just have to find a way to reestablish our connections because those will be meaningless once the programming is broken.”

Skye looked down and began to play with the hem of her shirt, “Will… Will he forget what SHIELD did to him?”

“It depends on when they instituted the programming. If it was right when he got to that science base… Then no, he won’t. Which will probably be what we hope for out of this.” Coulson explained. “The most he’ll remember will be being thrown in Tartarus. And even if it was after the experiments, he still didn’t live through this past year. That’s still better than nothing. But, we need to confront him and fight a way to bring him down without hurting him so we can get him into a containment cell or something so we can start breaking through that programming.”

Skye swallowing watching as Max peacefully slept on the couch, unaware of the hell happened all around them. “Then let’s go.” she stated firmly. “Even if he doesn’t remember me once this is all said and done, I still don’t want him to suffer. We can’t let SHIELD keep doing shit like this. Perhaps the Avengers can help us to find a way to tear Ainsley down. But, we need to start somewhere. We need to get those Inhumans to safety. And we need to get Grant back no matter the cost.”

Coulson nodded, “Then we’ll leave now.” he stated quietly. “Do not stray far. Please. If Grant finds you, he won’t show any mercy. Perhaps he’ll back off if he sees that others are with you. But, you can’t do this alone. You may be Inhuman, but that doesn’t make you invincible, Skye. Know your limits. Don’t do something that will get you killed.”

Skye looked away,  _ “I can’t make any promises.”  _ she thought.  _ “We’re all putting our lives at risk here to fight for what we believe is right. We’re risking everything to get these Inhumans to safety. We’re risking everything to save Grant. And we’re sure as hell risking everything by aiming to bring Ainsley down. There is a huge risk in all of this, and you know that. I don’t think that there’s any kind of guarantee that we’ll all leave here unscathed.” _

“Fine. But, let’s just get going.” she stated, pushing past Coulson to head back to the cargo bay. “I think our first priority should be to distract Grant so Romanoff, Morse, and Hunter can gather all the Inhumans. And the Inhumans can help as well, they just need someone to push them in the right direction. I think I know where Grant may be. I guess…. I guess that we just all need to stick together.”

Coulson watched quietly as Skye disappeared into the cargo hold. Honestly, he was terrified. He didn’t know if they could get Grant back or not. He wasn’t even sure if they could take him down long enough to break him out of it.

_ “Skye, I can see right through your optimism.”  _ he thought.  _ “You’re absolutely terrified. You’re going in to save the man you love, only to possibly receive a stranger in return. Grant won’t know who you are. He won’t know that he has an unborn child or a dog. And there’s no telling of how his mental state will be after all of this is over.  _

_ Grant… He will only be a mere shell of his former self.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's a little bit of a loop thrown into this. There's a huge chance that Grant won't remember the past year after he's broken out of SHIELD's control. Not good at all. Any thoughts of what's gonna happen next? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	33. So We Start a Civil War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final fight for Grant begins.

“Where do you think Grant is?” Coulson asked, stopping in the middle of a darkened and quiet hallway. He looked towards Skye, “Any ideas?”

“Probably in the room that we shared.” she answered. “But, it’s probably best that we don’t head right there, that’ll corner us. We need to somehow draw him out into the open and get him out of the building. While making sure that he doesn’t realize that Romanoff, Morse, and Hunter are getting everyone else out of here. The room we had was secluded, away from the rest of the ‘residential’ area of the base. If we draw him out the right way, then we can avoid having him see what we’re really doing here.”

Trip took a breath, casting a glance down the darkened hallway, “Any chance that SHIELD will know that we’re here?” he asked. “Even if we do have the Avengers on our side, it still won’t be good.”

Coulson shook his head, “Unless Grant sounds some kind of alarm and draws them here, then there’s little chance that they’ll realize that we’re here until we’re long gone.” he answered. “Like I said, Fitzsimmons and Barton are monitoring the comms to ensure that SHIELD somehow doesn’t come near. They’ll let us know if something’s up. We need to be fast with this. But, there’s no telling to how long it’ll take to take Grant down. He’s a fighter, even without being brainwashed. So, like Skye said, we need to get him out of this base and to one of the clearings outside before he can retaliate.”

“And how do you plan on luring him out?” May asked, crossing her arms. “He needs-”

“I’ll do it.” Skye cut in. “I’m the one that he’s mainly after. A face he knows as a target is our best bet. And I can fight back if needed.”

“Skye…”

Skye shook her head, “I’m going to do it.” she stated firmly. “Just me alone. Even though Coulson’s a target, I’m still his main priority right now. You three can stay out here, but be prepared to run. I might be able to lure him out by pulling a few strings, but it just needs to be me right now.”

“Are you sure?” Coulson asked quietly. “This is a big risk that you’re putting yourself into, Skye. I know that it’s Grant, but I feel like a line has to be drawn somewhere or another. You’ve known him for barely two months now. Is this something that you’re willing to do?”

“It’s not just about Grant, Coulson.” she answered, looking down the hallway. “This is about the Inhumans. This is about taking SHIELD down. As long as they have Grant under their control, they have a major upper hand here. Getting him back is the first step in taking SHIELD down.”

Coulson remained silent for a while, mulling over his options at this point. He didn’t want Skye risking herself like this, but they really had no other choice. They had to find a way to lure Grant out into the open and Skye was probably the only person that could do so right now.

“Fine. But, we won’t be far away.” he answered. “At the first sign of trouble, we’ll come. And Skye, don’t be afraid to use your powers if you have to. If Grant tries to attack, you fight back. Don’t worry about him getting hurt. He’s the danger right now. I know that you love him, but right now he isn’t that man. Don’t be afraid to fight back.”

Skye swallowed and clenched her fists at her sides, “I won’t. I promise.” she stated, beginning to walk down the hallway. “He’s probably this way.”

The other followed her, only stopping when she stopped and raised a hand. 

“The room’s around the corner. This is where you need to stop.” she whispered. “I think that he could sense others in a limited range around him. But, I’m not sure to how far that is. So, don’t come any closer.”

“I hear you loud and clear.” Trip muttered, eyeing the gun at his side.

“I’m going in.” Skye didn’t wait for anyone to respond. She just wanted to get this over with before SHIELD had a chance to show up. She held her breath as she approached the door. She could feel a faint, but familiar, vibration inside the room. Grant was in there.

Now, there was no telling to how Grant would react upon seeing her, but Skye assumed the worst already. He had been ordered to see her and their baby as targets. Nothing more, nothing less. So, she knew that he would attack with brute force.

She opened the door, everything in her body screaming at her to stop. She knew that this was a stupid idea, but they really had no other choice. Fear overcame her as she saw Grant sitting blankly on the bed. He looked up, something she couldn’t quite make out starting to register on his face.

Grant stood to his feet as Skye came in, shutting the door behind her. “Skye.” he stated. “You ran away. Why?” There was an accusatory tone in his voice, a predatory look in his eyes.

“I didn’t run away.” Skye stated as calm as she could. “I just needed some space.”

Grant began to close the gap between them, “Then why run with Coulson?” he questioned with a tilt of his head. “He is a traitor. He deserves to burn for what he’s done.”

Skye swallowed, “Grant, Coulson isn’t a traitor. Hell, he’s like a second father to you.” she began softly. “SHIELD has lied to you and they’re controlling you. You need to wake up.”

Grant frowned, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” he stated. “SHIELD has not lied to me. They only tell the truth. People like you are dangerous and must be dealt with.”

A knot formed in Skye’s stomach, “People like me?” she croaked. “Grant, you’re the same as me. We’re both Inhuman. SHIELD has turned you into a weapon for their own use. They’ve brainwashed you, Grant.”

He looked at her blankly, not responding at all.

“Grant, tell me who I am.”

“You’re my mission.” 

Grant moved faster than she could blink and suddenly had her pinned up against the wall, “A target.” he growled. “Roswell wants you dead.” He brought an abnormally warm hand to her abdomen, “And that hellspawn of yours, too.”

Skye’s eyes shrunk in fear, “That hellspawn is yours, too!” she screamed, hoping that Coulson wouldn’t come running. She didn’t want them to come running into this. “Roswell is controlling you! You are nothing more than a weapon to them, Grant! I’m sure as hell that she’ll kill you once you finish your ‘mission’ or whatever the hell it is!”

Grant dropped her and stepped back, something flashing across his eyes, “I don’t have a child.” he growled. “Not with the likes of you. If SHIELD wants to use me for the greater good, then so be it.”

“I don’t know what SHIELD drilled into your head when they programmed you or whatever, Grant, but this isn’t you.” Skye almost pleaded with him. She figured that the longer he was under the control, the more that he forgot about who he really was.“You are Inhuman. They stand against everything that makes you who you are. They’re controlling you. They experimented on you and turned you into a weapon. They made you suffer. You hate them, Grant. You need to wake up.

SHIELD isn’t fighting for the ‘greater good’.” she continued, holding her ground. “They’re wanting an army of soldiers just like you. Ainsley wants to have total control of the world by using that army. That’s why they’re taking out Inhumans. The ones that they can’t use for their army, they get rid of. You just happened to be useful to them. SHIELD is fucked up, Grant. They’re willing to betray one of their own and brainwash them. They’re willing to rip an unborn child from their mother and kill them just because they’re afraid. This isn’t what you stand for, Grant. Please. Look at me and wake up before it’s too late.”

Grant snarled and suddenly had her by her throat, lifting her into the air. He eyed her abdomen before looking up at her, “Perhaps Roswell won’t mind if I do her work for her. I’ll kill you, the child included.”

“That’s… That’s your child, Grant.” Skye choked out, slowly turning a palm towards him. “The very thing you wanted to protect from SHIELD. This isn’t you. I know that you’re in there, Grant. Please.” she begged. “Just look at me.”

That same light flashed in his eyes again, “Skye?” he whispered, slowly starting to lower her. Skye chose this moment to release a shockwave from her palm, which knocked right into his chest and sent him flying straight into the wall on the far side of the room. The room shook as Grant crashed through the wall, revealing the woods beyond the compound. 

Skye stepped forward, hoping that she had knocked Grant clean out, but he slowly rose to his feet. A wave of pain shot through her lower arm and she gripped it with her free arm, knowing that she had fractured it with that blast. Her stomach churned as she saw a massive gash on his face close up then and there. Now she feared that he would heal faster than she could do damage to him.

“Shit.”

The door came swinging open and Coulson, May, and Trip came running into the room, guns drawn. They froze without a single word, their guns pointed at Grant as they saw him standing unharmed in the rubble. 

Grant cracked his neck and took a step towards them, “You think you’re clever.” he stated in a monotone voice. “But I have the upper hand and I will fulfill my mission.” His eyes landed onto Coulson and they flared red, flames starting to spark off of his skin, “And there is nothing you can do to stop me. 

I will not fail. I cannot fail. And you will all be crushed like the pathetic traitors you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the battle for Grant has begun, but it seems that Grant already has them overpowered. Who will overcome at this point? Any guesses of what's to happen? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	34. I Don the Devil's Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Help comes to the rescue.

Skye swallowed as Grant took a lumbering step towards them. Honestly, she had no idea of how to stop him. Sending him flying back into a concrete wall hadn’t done a single thing to him. All she could hope for was that they could hold him off long enough to get the Inhumans out and have Stark’s back-up come. But, truly, she wasn’t even sure if they could hold him off for very long. He was far stronger than she ever would’ve thought and it was clear that he didn’t remember a single damn thing about her or the baby. 

“Grant,” she began softly. “Please. Just stop and think for a minute. Try to remember who we are. SHIELD has messed with your head. They’ve made it to where you can’t remember what really matters to you. They made you into a weapon. They’re just using you, Grant.”

Grant stopped and cocked his head, “No, they’ve made me  _ stronger. _ ” he stressed, holding his arms out and allowing flames to dance to life upon his skin. A crooked smile pulled at his lips and his eyes locked onto Coulson, “And if I can’t deal with you now, then I’ll head to my next target.”

Before any of them could move, Grant had disappeared and had reappeared around Coulson, taking the man into a headlock. His devilish eyes flickered towards Trip and May and their guns were suddenly ablaze. They dropped them before the weapons could burn them. 

May looked back up and she swallowed, fear starting to seep into her eyes, “What did they do to you?” she asked, knowing that there was probably no end to his power. Just what had SHIELD done to him. What had they turned him into? Inhumans were already powerful enough, but this? This was far more power than an Inhuman could ever have. No… May knew that he was far from being Inhuman now. Honestly, she believed that SHIELD had created a demon. That was the only kind of monster that was possibly capable of such power.

He looked at her blankly, Coulson still in his arm, “And why does it matter?” he asked in that same monotone voice. “They made me stronger. Far more stronger than any of you could ever be.”

“And do you honestly believe that SHIELD will allow you to live after your ‘mission’ is done?” May asked, staring straight at him. “You spent over a year running from them, wanting to survive at any cost. And now you’re just accepting your fate as just another pawn in SHIELD’s game? They didn’t make you stronger for the hell of it, you’re just a prototype. They’ll make more of you and you’ll soon mean nothing to them. Nothing at all. Is that what you really want?” she asked, still staring him. She was hoping that he would lower his guard just long enough for Coulson to escape out of the headlock. 

“You bathe in this ‘power’ or whatever the hell is that they’ve given to you.” she continued. “But, it’ll soon mean nothing at all and they’ll dispose of you like the monster they really think you are. They’ll dispose of all of us, just because we don’t believe in what they want us to. Every last person in this building. Do you really want to be a part of that.”

“They’re all monsters.” Grant spat, his eyes seething. He tightened his grip around Coulson’s neck. “SHIELD said so. Gotta… Gotta stop them. Have to do that. Or they’ll kill me.”

Skye frowned and looked at May as Grant suddenly started spitting out nonsense. 

“I have to do my job. It’s what they told me to do.” The look in his eyes turned wild and he slowly started to drag Coulson towards the opening in the wall. “I’ll kill him and I’ll kill every last one of you. The hellspawn included.” he spat. “That is my  _ job _ .”

Skye looked between Trip and May before taking a small step towards Grant, “Grant, that isn’t your job.” she began quietly. “Your job is to take SHIELD down and make sure that your baby survives to see the light of day. SHIELD has twisted you against what you love. You swore that you would take them down and kill every last one of them, don’t you remember that? You swore to stop the Inhuman genocide they are committing. But, they turned you into a weapon without you realizing it. 

Grant, we just want you to come back before it’s too late.” she continued, trying her best to give him a soft smile. “Let Coulson go and we can help you. We’re not sure of what will come of this, but we’ll free you from their grasp.”

A demonic light flared in his eyes, “I don’t need saving.” he spat. “Especially from Inhuman sympathizers.” He started to drag Coulson out of the room, who was scared speechless at this point. Grant raised his free hand towards them, “I’ll be back for you later.”

A wall of flame suddenly blazed to life, dividing them from Grant and Coulson. 

“Where the hell is he taking Coulson?” Trip asked, spinning to face the two women. “We can’t get through those flames.”

May swallowed, “Going that way, he’s probably heading towards the courtyard.” she stated. “Get out there, now.” She pushed past Trip and Skye, “Talking isn’t going to solve a single damn thing here, Skye. I know that you don’t want to fight him, but we have to do something.”

“May, I blasted him through the fucking wall and he acted like nothing ever happened.” Skye protested, jogging to catch up with the older woman. “If I can’t do damage to him, I don’t know what will.”

“Skye’s right, May.” Trip agreed. “He melted our guns into nothing and he has Coulson hostage. Coulson’ll be dead before we have the chance to act. We can’t go rushing blindly into this. We need to stop and think for a second.”

“We don’t have time to stop and think.” May snapped, not stopping at all. “Ward is a deranged monster as long as he’s under SHIELD’s control, Triplett. He won’t stop at nothing to see us all dead. At this point, we need the other Inhumans’ help with this.”

“And the Inhumans know to who he is, May.” Skye shot back. “They’re not going to help. They need to get the hell out of here before it’s too late. We need to wait until Stark and whatever backup he has comes.”

May stopped dead in her tracks, “And you’re seriously trusting that Stark will solve everything?” she asked coldly, spinning around to face Skye. “He’s had the power to stop all of this for a long time now, so why didn’t he?”

“Because he didn’t know, May.” Trip stated. “I don’t think none of the Avengers knew until Romanoff was contacted. I’m sure that Stark would’ve done something if he had of known. It’s just that no one had thought of doing something like that. We were too busy wrapped up in our own little world to think about something along those lines.”

May huffed and turned back around, leading them outside, “You better hope that he does somehow have the answer.” she stated coldly. “Because I sure as hell don’t.”

The three remained silent as they headed out into the courtyard. They didn’t see anything, but a sharp yell from the trees alerted them and they ran towards it. They froze as they took in the sight in the clearing that they came to. 

Coulson scrambled across the field, away from flames. The trees beyond him were broken, like something had went flying through them. And two armored figures stood in the middle of the field, one much bigger than the other.

The smaller one, painted black, walked towards them, its helmet disappeared to reveal none other than Tony Stark. He pointed back towards the treeline, “You weren’t kidding when you said that he was dangerous.” he began. “He packs a punch stronger than Banner there.” He pointed towards the bigger suit of armor, who gave them an awkward wave. “But, I don’t think that did anything to him. Get Coulson and get him to safety, he has some burns on him.”

Skye swallowed, not sure of what to say. The literal, honest to God Tony Stark was standing right there. But now wasn’t the time to fangirl over him. He was here to help save Grant’s life. A scream from the trees reminded her to why they were there. She turned to see a glowing figure stalking out of the treeline, smoke pouring off of him. 

Tony sighed, his helmet rematerializing as Grant barrelled their way, flames rising high into the air and nothing but murder in his brainwashed eyes.

“This flame-resistant armor better work. Because I didn’t spend all night building it for nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Tony Stark and his backup are here to save the day. Any guesses of what's to happen next? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	35. Recuse Myself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things come to the climax.

Skye watched in horror as Banner stepped in between Grant and everyone else. A sickening thud sounded out as Grant’s body slammed against the massive armor. Banner managed to grab him just as the flames snuffed out as Grant grew dazed. 

“Whoa now.” Banner stated, lifting Grant up into the air. “What the hell did they do to you?” He looked towards the SHIELD agents. “It’s like a switch flipped when he saw us. Turned into a wild animal almost.”

Tony sighed, “I reused a Hulk containment unit for him.” he stated. “I hope that it’ll hold. But, I’m starting to worry that he’s much worse than the Hulk at this point. He needs to be broken out of it soon before he can do some real damage.”

“And how does that happen?” Skye asked, trying to keep tears back. “It looks like whatever they did to him is permanent.”

“I'm working on that. But, we have to safely capture him first.” Tony answered, turning back around to look at Banner, who still had Grant tight in his grip. “Knock him out and I’ll have FRIDAY send the containment module down. Instead of Avengers Tower, it’ll be taken to the New Avengers facility. It’s in rural New York, so there’s a lesser chance of him getting out and causing major damage. Even though the Inhumans here will be taken to the same place, he’ll be in a completely separate part of it. One with a ton of high-tech security so he won’t escape. He’ll be contained to the facility itself until we can fully ensure that the programming has been wiped. 

But, I’ve never seen something like this.” he continued. “Seems to be way worse than what happened to Bucky Barnes. Seems like SHIELD took Hydra’s tech and upgraded it tenfold.”

“But, you  _ can  _ help him, right?” Coulson asked, keeping his distance away. Even if Banner had Grant subdued right now, he would still get out sooner or later. Coulson knew Grant’s skill. 

Tony almost let out of laugh, “ _ Of course  _ I can help him.” he stated proudly. “Even if there isn’t a solution to his problem right now, I’ll come up with it. Now’s just the matter of knocking him out and containing him.”

“Don’t hurt him!” Skye exclaimed, pulling Tony’s attention. “Please. He’s been through enough. He doesn’t need to be hurt.”

“I’m not going to be violent with him unless it’s warranted. I have the tranquilizer that’s Hulk-strength. If one does doesn’t work, then two should do the job.” Tony sniffed. “We-”

A scream from Banner cut him off along with a loud  _ whoosh  _ of flames. The ground shook as Banner stumbled backwards in the suit, a billowing mass of flame shooting away from him. The flames died away and Grant stood before them once more, his clothes charred tatters at this point in time. 

“You will not stop me from completing my mission.” Grant hissed, his eyes a hellish red. “I will kill every last one of you and drag that hellspawn to SHIELD’s feet.”

Skye winced, knowing that hellspawn meant their child. 

“A few Avengers doesn’t mean a thing to me.” Grant continued, flames flaring off of his skin again. “I can stop you. I don’t care who dies along the way.” He flung himself at him with tremendous speed.

Banner tried his best to bat him down, but Grant was too fast for the Hulkbuster’s lumbering form. 

“Bruce, fall back!” Tony yelled. “Protect the others, I’ll handle this!”

“Got it!” Banner fell back, creating a barrier between Grant and Skye, Coulson, and May. 

Tony turned back around the face the flaming man, “Easy there, kid.” he began, raising his hands up. “Coulson there tells me that you’re a good guy. This really isn’t you. I can tell that. SHIELD has you under their control. This isn’t what you want, it’s what they want. They’re killing your own kind, using you as a damn weapon.”

Grant narrow his eyes, “Lies. You vouch for my enemy.” he growled, taking a step forward. The grass beneath him caught on fire as did so. “I will kill you. Slowly. Painfully. I  _ will  _ do my job and no one can stop me. At all.”

Tony shrugged, “I didn’t want to do this the hard way, but it looks like you leave me no choice.” he stated, pointing his hand towards him. “I don’t think that an arc blast will affect you, but it doesn’t hurt to try. I….”

He trailed off as Grant suddenly disappeared, only embers floating around where he once stood.

“Where did he go?!” May exclaimed, making sure that Skye was close. “He could be anywhere. He could be…”

“Right here.”

A loud, metallic thud sounded out as Grant suddenly appeared, slamming down onto Tony. “You seem to be my biggest threat right now, so I’ll deal with you.” He pinned Tony’s arms down by his sides, “Time to see if that tin can will really withstand my flame. He smiled a somewhat-robotic smile, flames pouring from his eyes. “I will kill you. Every last one of you. I’ll hunt down the rest of the Avengers and kill them as well for helping with this.”

Tony struggled against Grant’s weight, finding him far stronger than he realized. “Don’t do this, Ward.” he stated, a plan coming to mind. “Like I said, this isn’t you. SHIELD has turned you into this. I thought that you hated them, right? Why not show them who you really are.” His mask dissolved and he looked over to Skye, giving her a slight nod before looking back to Grant. “They violated you. Don’t you want payback?”

Grant snarled, “Lies!” he screamed, raising a hand and setting it ablaze. He hovered it over Tony’s face. “They told me that this was the best way. That I was doing good by working for them. I-”

“Do you really think that?”

Grant frowned and looked over to see Skye walking towards them. He snarled, trying not to let his guard down. But he remained silent.

“Grant, you’ve told me time and time again about how much you wanted SHIELD to burn for what they did to you.” she continued, stopping just only a couple of feet away from him and Tony. “They betrayed you and threw you in jail all because of something you couldn’t help. They experimented on you and brainwashed you to turn you into some kind of monster. And they don’t care about you. They just want to make more of you. 

Once this is done, they’ll dispose of you.” she said, not backing down. “They’re just using you as a weapon, Grant. They want you to kill what they don’t like. And that includes all of us. Even your own child.”

Grant’s face scrunched up in confusion, “I… I don’t have a child.”

Skye swallowed and brought a hand to her stomach, “They’re barely there, Grant, and SHIELD wants to rip them from us just because they’re Inhuman.” she answered softly. “That’s the kind of people that they really are. Grant, look at me. Who am I?”

“My… My mission.”

He seemed to be growing confused. Perhaps she was really breaking through to him. 

“Grant, please. Who am I?”

His face fell and he blinked, the fire fading from his eyes, “S-Skye?”

Skye went to smile, but a blast sounded and Grant was suddenly flying through the air. He crashed into the treeline with a sickening crack.

She spun to see Tony standing to his feet, “What the hell was that?!” she demanded, the ground shaking slightly beneath them. “I was getting to him!”

“And I dealt with him.” he stated, walking towards where Grant had landed. “There was no guarantee that he wouldn’t snap back into Murder Mode in a couple of seconds.” A gun-like contraption suddenly raised from the armor on his arm, “And this’ll ensure that he’ll stay out. FRIDAY, go ahead and send the containment module and have him transported to the facility. Let Rhodey know that they have a delivery on the way.”

Skye couldn’t wrap her head around things as she watched Tony shoot Grant’s already-unconscious body with the tranquilizer. Then, some kind of pole-like machinery flew out of the sky, surrounding Grant and forming some kind of containment module around him. And just like that, Grant was gone as Tony and Banner gave them a nod and flew off with the module.

“What… What just happened?” Skye asked as Coulson and May came up to her. “I… I…”

“We got him back.” Coulson stated in a small voice. “I didn’t think that it would be this easy.”

“No… Something seems wrong, Coulson. This was too easy.” Skye said, shaking her head. “Way too easy. 

It’s not over yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And sorry for the wait with this, but I should be back with this! And I know that getting Grant back seemed a little short, but there's a reason to why. Any guesses? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	36. A Stranger I Remain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony explains his plans.

(New Avengers Facility, The Next Day)

“He woke during transport and almost took the containment unit out of the sky.” Tony began, turning to look at Skye and Coulson. The others were off with the Inhumans that had been brought to the facility, making sure that everyone was accounted for and situated before they firmly dealt with SHIELD.

“Luckily, FRIDAY was able to give him another dose of that tranq. But, it appears that I miscalculated his metabolism. A flame-based Inhuman super-soldier ought to have a metabolism greater than that of the Hulk. Banner has estimated it to be about 2 or 3 times greater. So, that’s why he woke so fast. We have him out now, but I don’t want to keep giving him the tranq because there’s no telling of what it would do to him. But, I can’t keep him awake either.”

“And why’s that?” Skye asked, biting the edge of her lip while looking down at Max, who sat patiently at her feet. 

“The containment unit here is built with many safeguards to ensure that he stays in, but it’s a matter of what he tries to do to himself when he’s awake.” Tony took a sharp breath, “Banner came in here earlier and found him slamming his head against the vibranium wall. SHIELD must’ve put a kill switch in his programming. So, he tries to kill himself if he’s captured. A safeguard method. So, he needs to stay asleep until we can break that programming. FRIDAY is putting the finishing touches on the machine we’re going to use. But, it won’t be ready until the morning.”

“So, if he wakes up before then, he’ll kill himself?” Coulson asked, his voice small. “That’s… That’s great. We need to stop SHIELD before they can create more ‘soldiers’ like him. But, how do we do that?”

Tony nodded, “That’s my next step. I’m using Ward as proof of what they’ve done. Captain Rodgers and I will present our findings, along with the proof that Miss Skye has found, to a senate panel in 5 days. Hopefully, it’s enough. Hell, I believe that surveillance video back from that safehouse of that Roswell chick and Ward will be enough. I just hope that SHIELD hasn’t engrained itself too far into the government. My last resort would be leaking the videos to the public.” He paused and smiled, “And if that isn’t enough, I have FRIDAY combing, incognito, through their archives. Anything damning I can find, I’ll use. Hopefully, the findings will be enough to cause an uproar and have SHIELD’s leadership replaced at least. 

Taking SHIELD down is highly unlikely.” he continued. “Replacing their leadership is our best bet.”

“And what about Grant?”

Tony nodded, looking towards Skye, who had asked the question. “Like I said, FRIDAY is putting the finishing touches on our machine. It’s tech based off of some specs we, uh,  _ borrowed  _ from SHIELD. Based directly off of what we believe is the machine they used to brainwash him. But, ours will do it in reverse. It’ll strip away SHIELD’s programming from his brain. Hopefully. If there’s no side effects.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow, “Side effects?”

“Worst case scenario? The machine fries his brain.” Tony answered honestly. “But, highly unlikely. The most possible one is the one you already feared. Once the programming is wiped, he won’t remember the past year because it’s wiping a year from his brain. And that’s if he doesn’t struggle during the procedure. We have Wanda Maximoff, you know her as the Scarlet Witch, helping us. Since her powers are psychic in nature, she can keep Grant’s rage at bay while we undo the programming.”

“Why can’t she undo the programming herself?” Skye asked with a frown, keeping her eyes on Max. Honestly, the black shepherd was the only thing keeping her together at this point. “Without the experimental procedure?”

Tony shook his head, “It’s more complicated than that.” he answered. “She already tried last night and it didn’t work, I’m afraid. So, we do have to take more drastic measures.”

“And what if he goes berserk?”

“I have back-up. Half of the Avengers will be nearby just in case.”

Skye looked away, “Can I see him before all of this happens?” Even if he wasn’t himself at the moment, she still wanted to see if he could recognize her before that was all possibly wiped away from him.

“No.” Coulson stated firmly, turning to look at her. “I don’t want you risking yourself or the baby. Skye, you need to remember that the man we have locked up isn’t Grant Ward. He’s whatever SHIELD intended him to be. You’re lucky that he remembered you just that little bit yesterday. 

Even if the procedure does wipe his memory, you have the chance to rebuild things with him. And properly this time.” he continued. “If Stark’s plan works, SHIELD and Ainsley will be done for in a matter of no time. You won’t have to worry about them coming after you, Grant, or the baby anymore. You can live in peace.”

Tony nodded once more, “And I’ll petition for Grant to be pardoned, considering that he is a wanted man right now. But, that’s all due to SHIELD’s doing. Falsely accused.Hell, they fucking killed innocent civilians just to get into his head. He might have killed SHIELD agents, but it sounds like it was all in self-defense. Or just pure rage.”

And truly, Tony was correct. Grant had killed people, but they had all been SHIELD agents who hated him and had gone after him. All of it could be considered self-defense in the end if it was questioned. But, Grant had been framed as a terrorist and a mass-murderer, Skye knew that it would be hard for that to be dropped and pardoned. Even if it could be all attributed to SHIELD, that would be something that would be hard to forget. Grant would always be remembered as the human-hating Inhuman that staged a terrorist attack, even if he hadn’t truly done such a thing. 

“I know that he’ll just want a quiet, peaceful life after this.” Skye stated, placing a hand on her belly. “It was clear that he deeply cares about our kid. Once everything is all said and done… We just need some peace for once.”

“I’ll see what I can do about helping with that.” Tony stated. “All three of you deserve to live quietly after everything that has happened.”

Coulson frowned, “Speaking of which, have you had the baby checked out lately?” he asked. “Other than when Simmons gave you an ultrasound?”

“No. I haven’t had the time.” Skye answered, her hand still over her belly. It would be a while until she started showing since she was only about 5 weeks pregnant.

Tony raised an eyebrow, “We don’t have that kind of doctor on base, but I can have one here in a matter of hours.” he stated. “You’ve been through a hell of a lot of stress. I know it’s early, but you still should be checked out.”

Skye shook her head, “No, I’ll be fine. I-”

“Skye.” Coulson stressed, cutting her off. “I think it’ll do you some good to have a check-up. Even if you aren’t that far along.”

“Fine.” she said, looking down to Max at her feet. She ruffled the dog on the head, knowing that he would be so happy to see Grant again. But, she frowned, remembering that Grant had mentioned that Max was still a puppy. Meaning that if Grant’s memory of the last year was wiped, he wouldn’t even remember his own dog. She swallowed, knowing that the next while would be hard for everyone. 

“I can have someone here in a few.” Tony stated, walking past them. “I imagine that you would be more comfortable with a woman doctor, right? Also, get some rest. Tomorrow morning is going to be hell. 

We have a man to save.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this, I started a job and haven't had the time or felt like writing anything. But, I'm gonna try to update a few things this weekend. Thoughts of what's going to happen next? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	37. The Mask Slips Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's far from over.

(The Next Morning)

“How are you doing?”

Skye looked up from her place on one of the couch in one of the common rooms of the New Avengers facility to see Fitzsimmons coming into the room. She gave them a forced smile, “Could be better. Especially if I could see Grant right now. But, Coulson was firm about not having me in there during the procedure in case things got out of hand.”

Simmons took a breath, “Trip’s in there, he’ll tell us if something goes wrong.” she answered, taking a seat across from Skye along with Fitz. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“I’m just afraid that he won’t remember any of this.” Skye stated, looking down to where Max slept on the floor. “I mean, it’ll probably be better for him if he doesn’t remember to what SHIELD did to him, but it’ll be hard to rebuild things. I know we weren’t together long, but a lot still happened between the two of us.” She brought a hand to her stomach, “It’ll be hard to tell a man with no memory of me that I’m carrying his children.”

Fitz raised an eyebrow, “Wait,  _ children _ ?” he asked. “I thought it was one kid?”

Skye shrugged, “Tony brought in a doctor yesterday and I had a check-up. It’s still too early for them to really tell, but there’s signs that I could be carrying twins. But, they really won’t know for another few weeks.” she explained. “But, I’ve been pretty exhausted lately and throwing up a lot as well. So, if it’s really twins, I’m in for a tough pregnancy. Especially with having to help Grant.”

“You know that you don’t have to help Grant all on your own, you know.” Simmons began, looking straight at her. “It sounds like Stark and Coulson are handling the whole taking Ainsley thing down on their own. So, there will be plenty of people around to help you.”

“Tony already told us that we could stay here. That he could have two rooms set up in the residential quarters. One for me and Grant. And one for the babies when they get here.” Skye answered, playing with the hem of her shirt. “That way, Grant can easily be seen by whatever doctors he needs to be seen by and my pregnancy can be closely watched. And also to give us protection in case any of Ainsley’s goons try to come after us.

It’s not going to be permanent, though.” she continued. “I’d like to be able to live a normal life once everything is all said and done. Like in a normal house in a neighborhood where our kids can grow up with other kids. But, we can’t do that until SHIELD is either down or under new command and until Grant is better. And we don’t even know what we’re going to have to deal with on Grant’s end yet.”

“That is true.” Simmons stated with a simple nod. “There’s no telling to what stripping away that programming will do. It’s basically undoing the programming that SHIELD put in place. They’re reprogramming him to what they believe is normal for him. But, that is a lot of stress on the human brain. Even if he doesn’t remember what happen, his brain might. And… And there is no telling to what kind of problems could arise from that. PTSD. Emotional problems. You name it, it’s a possibility.”

Skye blinked slowly, not really wanting to think about what could be wrong with Grant after this. He had been with Tony and Banner for the past hour now and she hadn’t even heard anything. She only took the fact that Grant wasn’t currently raging through the facility as a good sign. Maybe things were working so far; it was just only a matter of what came afterwards. Skye knew that him not remembering the past year would be the better of outcomes. She feared that the reprogramming would mess his mind up in some way or another. 

“How much longer do you think it’ll take?”

Fitz bit his lip, “It’s been like an hour already, so I imagine not too much longer.” he answered. “I’d imagine he would be asleep for awhile once it’s done. So, we may not know anything today. But, still, be prepared for anything. Best case scenario is that he doesn’t remember what happened. And I know it’ll hurt for him to not remember you or the fact that he’s going to be a father, but it’s probably for the best that he doesn’t remember to what SHIELD did to him. They put him through hell and back, breaking him in the process. I never knew him personally, but I know that he used to be a great and popular agent. He was practically a legend before SHIELD betrayed him. Now, I didn’t see that in him. 

All I saw was a man fighting to survive.” he continued. “Nothing more. A terrified man. SHIELD screwed him over and there’s no telling to what else is hiding beneath the surface. So, there’s no telling to what the reprogramming will reveal.”

Skye took a sharp breath, keeping her eyes on Max, “That’s what I’m afraid of. I’m afraid that he’ll wake up and not want anything to do with me or the babies.” she began. “That he’ll be completely different than the man he was. Since the reprogramming is more than likely erasing an entire year from his life… I don’t know to who he was a year ago. That trauma from SHIELD shaped him into the man that I met. Without that trauma, he’s probably a completely different man.”

“Skye, I don’t think that’ll keep him from loving you.” Simmons stated truthfully. “If he fell in love with you now, then I don’t think that a year will make any difference. I know that it’ll probably be hard for him to process the fact that he has unborn children at first, but I think he’ll warm up to it after a while. He’ll just need time.”

Skye nodded slowly, “I guess that you’re right.” she stated quietly. “I guess that we just need to take things one step at a time. The reprogramming has to work first. Then he has to wake up. We don’t know if-”

“He’s actually done.”

Skye’s stomach flipped and she looked up to see Coulson, along with Natasha, standing in the doorway, an unreadable smile on his face. “Huh?”

“Stark and Banner just finished with him.” Coulson answered, coming into the room. “He’s being transferred into the infirmary so we can monitor his vitals until he wakes up. He’s unconscious right now.”

“Did he… Did he cause any trouble?”

Natasha shook her head, “Not as much as we expected.” she answered. “He struggled for a bit until Wanda managed to calm him. The inhibitors that Stark installed worked like a charm. But, we won’t know if it worked until he wakes up.”

“And how will we know if it worked or not?” Fitz asked.

“If he doesn’t try to kill us when he wakes up.”

Skye swallowed, standing to her feet, “Can I go see him?”

“I’d rather not have you do so until he wakes up so we can make sure that he’s out of the brainwashing.” Coulson said lightly. “I just don’t want you getting hurt by him if any of the programming still remains. I know that you want to see him, Skye, but we have to be careful.”

“I guess… I guess that you’re right.” she muttered.

“Stark said that FRIDAY will notify you when he wakes.” Coulson continued. “She’ll monitor his activity and will let you know when it is safe to see him. But, we’re not promising that he’ll know who you are. So, you need to prepare yourself just in case that does happen. Even with Max. He probably won’t even know to who he is. The only people he’ll more than likely recognize are me, May, Nat, and Clint. Maybe. You just need to be prepared for the possibility.”

Skye looked down to her feet. She knew that there would be no way that she could prepare herself for the possibility of Grant not knowing her. How could she? Even though they had barely known each other for 2 months, it felt like she had been with him forever with everything that they had already been through. 

She knew that they weren’t out of the woods just yet. They were still right in the middle of them with nothing for miles around.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Grant is out of the procedure. I chose not to focus on it and focus on Skye for a reason so you could get more of her emotions (and to reveal that she's possibly having twins). But, there's still much more to come. Will Grant remember the past year or not? Any guesses of what's to come? Keep the comments and kudos coming!

**Author's Note:**

> Just another idea that I wanted to write down! Find me on Tumblr @gears-of-ward!


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